Harry's Trek
by kb0
Summary: During the final battle, Harry gets thrown into a new universe, landing on the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D. This should take place in about "season 4" of ST:TNG, but I'm not going to be strict about the timeline, using things and events as needed.
1. Encounter at Earth

**Title:** Harry's Trek  
**Summary:** During the final battle, Harry gets thrown into a new universe, landing on the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D. This should take place in about "season 4" of ST:TNG, but I'm not going to be strict about the timeline, using things and events as needed.  
**Rating:** PG-15, Suggestive Scenes but nothing explicit  
**Pairing:** H/OC (if it really matters)  
**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter belongs to someone commonly known as JKR and I'm not her. Star Trek belongs to Paramount Pictures & maybe others and I'm not them. No money is being made on this story. The plot and any original characters are all that's really mine here.  
**A/N:** I suspect this is a very unusual crossover pairing. I've only see 1 other story with this combo and it was written by "Darth Marrs", so I suppose we could say that he's influenced the creation of it slightly by showing me it was possible. While I'm not a rabid ST fan (I've never been to a convention :), this is probably the universe I'm most comfortable in beside HP, so I suppose it was inevitable that I'd eventually write something like this. I hope you enjoy it. I've had some extra writing time lately, so you're getting this sooner than I'd previously anticipated. There will be 10 medium sized chapters plus a short epilogue for almost 60K-words.

**Harry's Trek **

**Chapter 1 - Encounter at Earth**

[May 2]

(A/N: Bold text in this top section is from book7 by JKR.)

Harry and Voldemort slowly circled each other in the Great Hall. Harry knew the end was near, either he was right about the Elder Wand and he'd win or he was wrong and he'd probably die. He didn't see any other outcome.

"**So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" whispered Harry. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does ... I am the true master of the Elder Wand."**

**A red-glow burst suddenly across the enchanted sky above them as an edge of dazzling sun appeared over the sill of the nearest window. The light hit both of their faces at the same time, so that Voldemort's was suddenly a flaming blur. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he too yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco's wand.**

"**Avada Kedavra!" "Expelliarmus!"**

**The bang was like a cannon blast, and the golden flames that erupted between them, at the dead center of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided.**

The golden flames suddenly expanded to include both combatants for a moment before they suddenly contracted with a bright light and another bang, knocking everyone in the Great Hall off their feet.

When their vision return, everyone looked around and were shocked to see nothing in the middle of the large room. Harry's close friends were the first to recover fully and run forward, but there was absolutely nothing to find, not even ash or dust. Harry Potter and Voldemort and everything they had were all gone. Not even the professors could find anything or offer any explanation as to what had happened.

Harry Potter was hailed as a hero for defeating Voldemort. He was also never seen in the Wizarding World again.

— — —

The golden flames turned multi-colored, although it was against a backdrop of a bluish white tunnel that twisted and turned, stretching him in ways Harry was sure the body was never meant to bend. He thought he also saw a glimpse of Riddle and perhaps even a wand flying with him, but he couldn't be sure as "this world" exploded in a bright white light and dropped him from a height he felt in all of his bones.

— — —

Captain Jean-Luc Picard looked around his bridge with a certain amount of satisfaction. He never gloated publically, but there were times in the privacy of his mind and in a few private conversations with trusted individuals that he said that he had the best crew in Star Fleet.

As he completed his visual survey, he saw an impatient looking Ambassador Tremlin, which slightly dulled his enjoyable moment. The man was a fine example of an annoying bureaucrat.

Picard pushed the annoyance away with one last look at the main viewscreen, which showed the Earth below. The sight of his home planet from space like this was one of his earliest motivators as a child to go into the final frontier one day.

"Number One, are we ready to leave for Ardoni IV?"

"Aye, Captain," William Riker replied with a brief glance at the Ambassador. "All crew are back onboard and all of our supplies are stored. The Enterprise is ready."

"Very well, let's get the Ambassador on his way so he can do his job. Mr Crusher?"

"Course plotted and laid in, Captain," the newly field promoted Ensign replied as protocol specified, and with the Ambassador on the bridge, this was not a time for deviation.

"Mr Data, En-"

The klaxons suddenly went off.

Over the noise of the alarms, Worf shouted, "Wormhole!" just as a bright white light flashed in the middle of the bridge, a meter in front of the Captain and the Ambassador and not far behind Data and Crusher.

Picard blinked furiously to get his sight back. He'd thrown his hand up in front of his face as well as turned his head, which had mostly protected him, but not completely. As he started to make out images again, he realized he was looking down and to the right. He saw the Ambassador on the floor holding his face.

Ignoring the Ambassador to find out what had happened to his ship, he looked upward to see Worf had moved from his station and was holding a phaser in the ready position and looking menacingly at something.

Looking a little to the left he saw what the wormhole had delivered and had Worf so concerned. There were two bodies and there was a lot of blood. The blood was easily explained by the body of a humanoid that was ripped in half at the waist. The head of the humanoid looked like an experiment gone bad in trying to cross a human with a snake.

A moan from the other body brought all attention to it; he seemed to be looking at the corpse. "Lovely, but bloody hell that hurt," the young man that was about Ensign Crusher's age said before he went limp.

"Medical to the bridge, emergency!" Riker barked into his communicator. "We have … two … that need attention; bring a gurney." The first officer looked at the captain.

"I think two is the appropriate number. Try to help the Ambassador." Picard looked away from the grizzly scene as he didn't think there was anything he could do to help the young man. "Mr Data, Lieutenant Worf reported a wormhole. What did our sensors detect?"

Data returned his attention to his console and his fingers blurred into action.

Worf, phaser still out, slowly moved around until he was next to the young man who had survived. There were two sticks near his hand and Worf moved them away with the toe of his boot so they were out of reach of the survivor. He didn't know if the sticks were weapons or not, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"Captain," Data said, breaking the general silence of all but a few whispers as the crew worked, "as Lieutenant Worf reported there was a micro-wormhole that ended on the bridge. Point of origin is unknown; however, there was a trans-dimensional component to it."

Picard looked at the android in surprise. "Are you saying he came from another universe?"

"I do not have enough data to be absolutely certain, Captain, but there is a very high probability of that being true. Perhaps he," Data pointed at the survivor, "can tell us more."

"Hopefully," Picard said as the doors to the turbo lift opened and Doctor Beverly Crusher hurried out, followed by three others.

"What happened?" she snapped in her take charge manner. Three steps later she came to a sudden and complete halt as she saw the full and unexpected scene in the middle of the bridge. This was something more like out of a war zone, not something that should have been on bridge of the flagship of Starfleet. Those with her almost ran into the back of her. As they stopped, she gathered herself after a few seconds and resumed her hurried stride to "the scene" and started running her medical tricorder over the survivor. The other body was ignored for now, obviously beyond help.

"A micro-wormhole brought these two here," Picard told her as she knelt over the young man. Another doctor moved to the Ambassador who Riker had sitting in his chair as the man rubbed his eyes and temples. Almost as an after-thought, the captain added, "It's also possible that he's not from this universe, in case that affects your diagnosis."

Doctor Crusher looked at him and nodded her acknowledgement and appreciation for the information. "Doctor Sorrd, report."

"The Ambassador suffered optic overload, but is recovering quickly." The Vulcan doctor pressed a hypospray to the man's arm and administered it. "He'll be completely recovered in a hour or so; rest would accelerate his recovery."

"Very good," Crusher responded just before the Ambassador looked at Picard.

"Captain, since I will recover soon and this mission is critical, we need to go now." Although a little shaky, the Ambassador stood as if that showed he was perfectly fine.

"Ambassador Tremlin…"

"Captain Picard, you know the priority of this mission. While I normally have no authority over you, I do have authority as to the schedule of this mission and I say we go and you can deal with this on the way. I believe you said it would be a three day trip? That's plenty of time to clean the carpet."

Picard blinked in amazement at the man's narrow vision and callousness, but he did understand what the man was pointing out. There were two things that had to be done first.

"Doctor, what is his state? Can you help him or should we beam him down to Earth before we go?"

Crusher looked up at him after giving medicine to the young man via a hypospray. "He's reasonably stable considering having traveled through a wormhole without an environmental suit. He has a number of injuries, but I can handle those. There are some readings about him that I can't explain, but I don't believe they poses a danger to the ship or crew."

"Very well. Take him to sickbay and do your best. Please call me when he awakes and I'll be down." Picard turned the bridge crew as a whole. "Report your status by department."

Everyone was reporting ready when asked. As that happened, the medical team was loading the young man on an anti-grav gurney to move him to sickbay.

Engineering went last and Picard paid close attention to that report. "Ensign Yarnly?"

"Sir. Engineering is ready."

"Was there any damage to the ship from the wormhole?" Picard asked, slightly miffed that he had to ask, since he thought special mention of that should have been given in the report. He gave the new Ensign a little latitude. She was only six months out of the Academy and new to the Enterprise; still, he would speak to his Chief Engineer about this later.

"No sir, there is no structural damage at all. The ship is ready," she reiterated.

"Thank you," he said, now understanding her answer better and decided he had jumped to a conclusion and made a mental note to get to know his new bridge crew a little better over the next few days … although a hint to the Chief Engineer might be in order instead of a complaint.

Picard looked at the Ambassador, who was giving him a smug look despite watery eyes, and then ordered, "Mr Data, full impulse engines to take us out of orbit and the solar system. Go to Warp 8 as soon as you can. Engage."

"Mr Worf. Please get someone up here to clean this mess. I want someone from your department to oversee it and search the body to be sure it's safe before Medical has a look at it. Also, I think someone from Security should be in Sickbay until we know more about the survivor."

"Aye Captain, I've already made arrangements for Sickbay. They'll be there before Doctor Crusher arrives."

"Efficient as usual, Mr Worf." Picard turned to his guest. "Ambassador, perhaps you should go to your quarters to recover. I'll notify you of anything that impacts our journey."

"I-" Ambassador Tremlin blinked heavily again and rubbed an eye. "Perhaps you're right, Captain. I look forward to your next progress report." A medical aide went to his side and helped him to the turbo lift as the gurney also went in.

"Doctor?"

"I'll let you know the minute he wakes up, Captain," she told him quietly.

"I'd like a report in two hours if you can, whether he's awake or not. If he's really from another dimension, there will be a way to know, won't there?"

"Possibly," she answered. "He seems human based on my scan, but I have a reading that I don't understand. I'll let you know in two hours."

As the Doctor left, Picard turned to his first officer, purposefully not looking at the body and blood. "Number One, please schedule a meeting for the senior staff in two hours. I want to know more about what happened and discuss affects. I'll be in my ready room. You have the bridge."

"Aye sir," Riker said as he moved over into the main chair and the turbo lift hissed open, revealing a small group that would clean up the mess.

While not sickened by it, Riker didn't particularly want to look at it either, so he turned to his old friend. "Deanna?" he asked softly. "Did you get anything from him?" There was no doubt who the "him" was.

"Very little other than relief," she replied. "I can understand relief at having survived, but it didn't seem like that was his focus."

"As long as it doesn't get any worse, at least this mission won't be as boring as I first thought," he said.

Deanna Troi gave him an incredulous look. "You enjoy tempting fate by saying that, don't you?"

He grinned at her. "I've never seen you be superstitious before."

"I'm not being superstitious now, I'm being … practical," she said a little defensively.

"If that's what you want to call it," he said good-naturedly.

— — —

Captain Picard walked into the conference room off the bridge and was pleased to see all of his senior staff already there. "Doctor Crusher, let's start with your report," he said as he took his seat at the head of the table.

"Our patient has the DNA of a human, so if he's from a parallel universe, it one that's very similar to ours. Oddly, I found traces of Anaphasic Energy in him."

"That should not be possible, Doctor," Data said.

"No, it shouldn't," she agreed, "as it's generally unstable and the usual stabilizer, plasma as in matter not the blood component, would kill humans. It's a mystery I can't explain; but if you want evidence for extra-universe origin, that would be it. Of course, this universe is very large and there are many life forms which have surprised us throughout history."

"Yes, good point, Doctor," the captain agreed. "Since you haven't called me down to Sickbay, I'll assume he's still unconscious?"

"He is," she said with a nod. "I can report that the Anaphasic energy levels in his system are dropping while he is healing faster than normal."

"Leading us to the conclusion that the Anaphasic energy should be there and is not a by-product of his wormhole experience," Riker said thoughtfully.

"Yes, I arrived at the same conclusion," the doctor said. "Lastly, there appears to be a direct inverse relationship between his Anaphasic energy level and his rate of healing. So despite his rapid healing, or perhaps because of his rapid healing, the energy is dropping and his vitals are getting weaker. I can only think of one thing to do, although it would normally not be done for a human. We need to give him Anaphasic energy."

"While that might help him, what would that do to our crew and ship?" Picard asked with concern.

"As long as it isn't directed at the warp core or the fusion generators, the ship should be fine," Geordi La Forge answered, "or so I think. It's not something we deal with on a normal basis."

Data frowned and started tapping away at the keyboard built into the table in front of him, not saying anything for the moment.

"The crew," Crusher said, "would be safe in low doses for short term exposure. My quick search found no studies on long term exposure to large doses since it's not something that's normally found in nature in more than trace amounts - anywhere."

Data cocked his head slightly for a moment. "My review agrees with Doctor Crusher's. However, by searching the medical information shared with us by the Klingon Empire, it appears that Lieutenant Worf would be the least affected and probably not affected at all. Vulcans and Andoreans should also not be affected. All others would probably react like humans, at least for those species we have data on."

"Thank you, Data," the redhead said with a smile. "I constrained my searching to human biology because of haste. I'll expand my search to other physiologies and see what I can find that might be helpful. However, my first concern is the patient's present condition. Geordi, can you help?"

"I can, the only question is if he can hang on long enough for me to make a small Anaphasic generator, something I'll have to go research as I'm not overly familiar with it. For the short term, could you put him in one of the small holodecks and have it generate low-level Anaphasic energy to stabilize him?" La Forge asked.

"Technically, yes," Data answered, "but it would be ill-advised now that I know more about this energy. There is an 87 percent probability that it would damage the holodeck circuitry if it were hit with a strong enough beam of Anaphasic energy. While all of the electronics onboard are hardened against EMP damage, Anaphasic energy has a higher output and is also something that is never been tested on our systems. As Doctor Crusher said, it is not normally found in nature in any significant concentration. It is also not easy to generate in concentrated amounts."

"Mr La Forge, please work on that generator and make one as fast as you can, while keeping the safety of the ship in mind," the captain directed.

"Yes, sir." Geordi typed a message on the computer interface in front of him to start a team working on the problem.

"Mr Worf, what were your findings?"

"The dead body had little of consequence on him," Worf said. "The fabric of his clothes was a little unusual. The best guess based on data from the computer is that it's from the technological equivalent of our early twenty-first century. The clothes on the survivor were similar although more worn."

"His speech was consistent from that timeframe as well," Data said. "It was also consistent with the island formally known as Britain, based on recordings I have heard."

"Was there a temporal displacement as well as trans-dimensional?" Picard asked.

"Not that I was able to detect," Data answered.

"Very well. Please continue, Mr Worf."

"The possessions of the survivor were limited to the two sticks near his hand, a bag around his neck, an unusual piece of cloth in a pocket, and a ring in his other pocket. They seem normal, yet there are indications they aren't." Worf scowled as he thumbed the datapad in front of him.

"What do you mean?" the captain asked.

"The sticks show something unidentifiable inside them, but there is no seam or hole anywhere on the wood. The bag seems to have something in it, but we can't open it or scan inside of it, at least not without destroying it. When we scan the cloth and ring, they absorb the energy but don't do anything with it. Also, we can't identify the material the cloth is made of and it compresses to a smaller volume than normal cloth. It's shaped as if it's to be worn and reminds me of a cloak that some cultures use, the Vulcans and the Romulans both come to mind. The doctor has verified he's not Vulcan or Romulan in disguise. The inconsistencies are frustrating."

"I assume you've been working with Science on this?" Picard asked.

"Yes, sir. I've also considered asking Data if he could look at our findings. Perhaps he could see correlations we haven't."

"I would be happy to help," Data said.

"Make it so," Picard said with a nod at Data.

"We've delivered the body to Medical for an autopsy," Worf ended and laid his datapad down.

"We haven't had time to look at corpse in detail yet," Crusher said. "A quick scan also shows human DNA, but some of the genome sequences are completely unexpected, which accounts for his odd appearance. I anticipate we'll have full genetic information by tomorrow morning although I don't expect it to be all that helpful."

"Captain," Riker spoke up. "Deanna has one more piece of information."

"Counselor?"

"Commander Riker asked what I felt from the survivor before he fell unconscious. Besides the obvious pain he was in from his ordeal, the only thing I felt was relief," she said.

"That would make sense," Picard said and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Captain, but the focus wasn't on his survival. I got the impression it was about something else and that he didn't really care that he had survived."

"That's interesting," Picard said slowly. "Thoughts anyone?" No one answered.

"Then, you each have a project Mr La Forge and Mr Data, and you have a patient Doctor Crusher. Please keep me informed. Dismissed." Picard rose and left, as did the others to their tasks or normal duties.

— — —

As the normal first shift ended, the captain walked into Sickbay. It wasn't hard to find the survivor. Besides Doctors Crusher and Sorrd standing at the end of his bed, there were two heat lamp looking devices shining on his body and the Chief Engineer was taking recordings. Two men from security were also standing not too far way, phasers in their holsters.

"How is he doing?" Picard asked.

Crusher turned to him and Sorrd walked away after a nod to the captain. "Geordi brought these in about two hours ago and I believe they're helping, but I can't tell you why. They were giving the biobed fits at first, but it's getting better."

"I've been tuning it a little, but I believe that it's about as good as it'll ever get, at least for this version of the device," Geordi told them as he closed his engineering tricorder. "That's at its highest setting, which is about twice the trace amount found on Earth."

Picard looked at her. "Have you found out anything else about him?"

"A few things." She stopped and looked at Geordi who got the hint.

"I'll be in Ten-Forward for a while if you need me, or call Engineering. Lieutenant Barclay helped with this and he'll be on-shift for the next four hours."

"Thank you, Geordi," Crusher said with a gentle hand on the engineer's shoulder.

"Any time, Doctor," he said pleasantly before he left.

She turned back to the captain. "He should be about eighteen, or the age of Wesley. However, unlike Wesley, this young man was abused in his childhood. Although he doesn't look it now, he was malnourished as a child and there is evidence of a couple of broken bones that healed on their own. They were probably simple fractures which is why the bones healed in the correct shape, but I can still tell they had been broken. He has a few interesting scars, including one on his forehead that looks recently healed or maybe changed, but he is otherwise in fairly good shape physically. He used to wear eyeglasses, but Worf only found some mangled ones during the clean up, so I corrected his vision with a simple procedure."

Whatever Picard might have been about to say was stopped cold as their survivor moaned and started to flutter his eyes.

Crusher stepped forward in two large steps and ran her tricorder over him. "Can you understand me?" she asked.

"Yes," he whispered. "Water?"

"Hold on," she told him as she turned around and grabbed a small bottle with a straw before handing it to him.

"Thank you," he said a little louder after a drinking. He looked around for a moment before saying, "Where am I and why can I see without my glasses?"

"You're in the sickbay of the USS Enterprise and I'm Doctor Crusher. This is Captain Picard." Picard stepped to the other side of the biobed. "You were injured but we've mostly fixed you up. I also did a simple procedure to correct your vision so you don't need glasses anymore. How do you feel?"

"Like I've been trampled. I'll assume a sickbay is like a hospital, but what's an Enterprise?" He looked back and forth at both of them.

"I suppose that is my cue. The Enterprise is a starship of Star Fleet, a part of the United Federation of Planets; I'm Jean Luc Picard, her captain. Do you have a name?"

The young man blinked at them for a moment, obviously trying to assimilate the information. "OK," he said slowly. "I can at least answer that question. I'm Harry Potter. What's a starship?"

Picard looked at Crusher, who looked as surprised as he was.

"Let's try something a little easier," Picard said gently. "Where were you born?"

"Not really sure," Harry told them. "I don't know a lot about my parents and they died when I was one. About all I can really say for sure is in Britain."

"Data was right then," Crusher said, causing Harry to look at her.

"On the planet Earth?" Picard queried.

"Yes, what other planet could I be born on?" Harry asked as if there was only one possible answer.

"Mr Potter, what date do you believe it to be?" Picard asked.

"Err, the last I remember it was the 2nd of May,1998. Why?"

"That would explain a few things," Crusher said.

"What?" Harry asked a little urgently.

"Mr Potter," Picard said and waited until he looked at him. "You came here under very unusual circumstances, through a wormhole."

"What's a wormhole?"

"That's something that will have to be explained later, but the important thing is that we believe that you came from another universe, or another dimension if you prefer."

Harry blinked incredulously.

When nothing was said after a long moment, Picard said, "We believe that not only did you travel to this universe, but you've come forward in time. Here, it is the year 2367 on Earth."

Harry looked around sickbay very carefully before dropping his head back down on the pillow. "I'd swear this was the best prank ever except that I don't think even Fred and George could do something this elaborate. And I can see without my glasses." He suddenly looked at Picard. "Did I come alone or is my memory of a dead man arriving with me real?"

Picard nodded. "That's a very real memory. Will you tell me what happened?"

Harry sighed. "At least I did one thing right." He looked at each of them for a moment. "Assuming everything you've told me is true, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, then I guess I have no reason not to tell you.

"The short version of the story is that there was a madman who was trying to take over our world - our Earth. He's the one who came with me. His name was Voldemort. I, and others who didn't want him to take over, fought back however we could. Originally, our side was led by the Headmaster of my school, until he was killed about a year ago.

"The last year has been very difficult for everyone, except Voldemort's side. People they didn't like were put in 'camps'; some were killed. The final confrontation, if you want to call it that, happened just before I left. As Voldemort and I fought, it ended in a strange bit of golden flames. Before I knew what was happening, I was pulled into this very colorful place and was stretched and twisted in painful ways. I assume that was your … wormhole?"

"I would assume that too," Picard agreed.

"At least I ended the war by removing him and everyone where I came from can have peace, or those that are left alive." Harry looked at Picard. "Is it possible for me to go home?"

"While we are considered very advanced technologically to your world, there are many things we can not do. I'm sorry," Picard said very sincerely, "but I'm afraid you're stuck with us in this universe."

"I suppose it's just another twist in my strange life," Harry sighed.

"We'll do our best to help you adjust," Picard assured him. "We have some very good people here who can help you. Also, we can help you get to Earth. That will be a few weeks away at the earliest and you'll have to transfer to other ships as it could be a year or more before we return."

"Thank you, Captain."

"Doctor Crusher will help you get better and then introduce you to those in charge of education to help you acclimate to this universe and time." Picard patted him on the shoulder and left.

As he was walking away, he heard from behind, "Mr Potter, do you know what Anaphasic energy is?"

"Huh?

Picard smiled to himself. That young man had a lot to learn.

— — —

Harry closed his eyes and thought. He wasn't really sleepy, but they had dimmed the lights to simulate night, or so he had been told. He hadn't been awake for more than a few hours, but his head was swimming in "stuff" that he had trouble believing.

That he had come to another dimension, a term he preferred over universe, wasn't overly hard to understand. He supposed the Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic could be considered a portal to another dimension, just one for death instead of life.

That he had rid his world of Voldemort was a great thing. That he had lost all of his friends and the world that he knew sucked greatly. One to balance the other he supposed, although he felt like he came out on the short end of the things - again.

There was a big positive about being here though: he could start over and never ever have to worry about being called The-Boy-Who-Lived again. He would be famous for being a dimensional traveler, or so the doctor hinted at, but perhaps he could live somewhere that wouldn't matter.

Perhaps the most interesting thing was they had a "scientific" name for magic: Anaphasic energy. He had played dumb when Doctor Crusher asked about it all, saying that he'd always been this way and it all "just was".

While that was true, it was less than honest; but he was also not quite sure how much he could trust everyone at the moment. They all seemed trustworthy, but he couldn't really tell. Also, while this group might be trustworthy, others might not be. So for the time being, he kept the knowledge of magic to himself, like he'd always done when not at school. It wasn't even all that hard anymore.

Harry considered that being from a place that was similar to nearly 375 years in their past was also helpful. He could use that as an excuse for anything strange that he did.

* * *

(A/N: Harry is now in the 24th Century. No, his old friends won't be joining him here.)


	2. New Friends

(A/N: Thanks to everyone for the kind reviews.)

* * *

**Chapter 2 - New Friends**

[virtual May 3]

As Harry opened his eyes, he saw a smiling redheaded woman looking at him. His first instinct had been to say "Mum?", but he had suppressed that in time. "Doctor Crusher."

"Good morning, Harry. Sleep well?"

"I suppose. The bed was reasonably comfortable and there wasn't too much noise. How am I doing?"

"Surprisingly well, considering what I know happened to you yesterday," she said with a smile. "As long as you don't strain yourself, I think you can leave here. The only question I have is about your Anaphasic energy, but since you don't know anything about that, we'll just have to monitor it."

"I've been thinking about that," he said, trying to be vague about some magical theory Hermione had once said. "Does Earth naturally produce that, even if it is very little?"

She smiled at him. "I did research that and the answer is yes. It is almost everywhere on the planet in trace amounts, although some places are a little stronger or weaker than others." She leaned over with a conspiratorial look and whisper. "There are stories that some believe that the places with the highest concentration also support ghosts." She stood straight and chuckled.

Harry chuckled along with her, despite knowing ghosts were very real. "Ignoring ghosts, if the Earth makes it, maybe my body wants it? You know, like food?"

"It is an interesting idea and probably the best guess at the moment," she agreed. "I've considered something similar. Also, if you're from an alternate Earth, maybe this is one of the ways it's different from ours."

"Maybe," Harry agreed vaguely. "I know we don't have anything like this," he waved his hand around a little to indicate the ship.

"Since you have no family and you're old enough to be considered an adult, we'll give you one of the small extra quarters that we have and you can put these lamps there. You can sleep under them for a few days and then come here every other morning. If your Anaphasic energy levels remain reasonably constant for the next week, then we'll consider that good enough. Otherwise, we'll try something different." She gave him a questioning look.

"That's fine and I can do that," he answered her. "Err, so, can I get dressed and leave?"

"Of course. I have some clothes that should fit you. I'm sure the clothes you came in will be returned to you later today after they've been cleaned. I'll also have someone take you to the main mess hall for breakfast and then introduce you to the others who will help you."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"I'm glad we could fix you up, but please try not to do it again," she said with a smile and a wink as she led him to a place to change.

"No, no more wormholes for me," he promised.

When he came out, he saw another woman who was about the doctor's age talking to her.

"Harry," Crusher called him over. "Harry, this is Ada Winters. She is the head of our educational programs. She can help you from here."

"Professor Winters, it's good to meet you," he greeted her.

The woman chuckled pleasantly. "Technically, I suppose I am a professor, but Mrs Winters will do."

"Oh, Doctor, do you have the rest of my things?" Harry really wanted to get his things back, and he hoped even more there would be a working wand among them.

"No, but I believe Lieutenants Worf and Data do. I'll send word to them to bring them by. They'll probably ask you a few questions about them," she said.

"They're a few of the things I have left from my family," he said, trying to play the sympathy angle.

Crusher bought it and smiled. "I'm sure there won't be any problems. If you'll go with Ada, she'll help you find breakfast and get settled in."

"Thanks again."

"Good-bye, Harry."

Ada Winters led him out of sickbay, walking very slowly. "Harry, I understand that you're from the equivalent of our late twentieth century. Is that correct?"

"Yes, ma'am. Doctor crusher told me what they think that time was like despite not knowing everything that happened back then. It sounds very similar to where I came from."

She nodded. "Yes, it was a time of trouble for us but we did survive while some of our records did not. I bring that up because as they told you, we now travel to other planets. That means that we sometime meet others who don't look like us and act differently too. Do you think that will be a problem for you?"

Harry thought he understood why they were taking their time going anywhere. She wanted to know this first. "No, Mrs Winters, or at least I don't think so. I suppose there are a few things that could freak me out, but I can't think of what they might be."

Winters smiled at him. "That's good. I was asking about what we call xenophobia, or the fear of strangers and especially other species. Most of the crew is human or at least enough so to look like you and me. However, some are fairly different."

They stepped onto what Harry thought was a lift. Winters called out, "Deck 14, main mess hall." A beep answered her and he could feel a tiny bit of movement to the side.

"I thought this was a lift?" he asked.

"This is a turbolift. It also goes horizontally if needed." With a smile she told him, "Fortunately for you, I have a good background in history."

The turbolift doors opened and as they stepped out, a family of three passed them and stepped into the lift. Harry stared at the taller than normal man who was bald, a beautiful woman who felt like a Veela, and their daughter who looked a little younger than himself and also had the feel of the Veela. However, unlike the Veela, all three of them were very green.

As the doors closed, Harry blinked and took in a deep breath before looking at his guide, who was watching him closely. "Err, that was unusual. I assume they were some of the people you were telling me about?"

"Yes. How do you feel now, Harry?" she asked with obvious curiosity.

"I, uh, I can see that I've got a lot to learn and it's more than just technology and history." Green house-elves were one thing, he thought; but green people were another.

Ada Winters chuckled and relaxed as she started to guide him again, though a little faster now. "Yes you do."

— — —

Mrs Winters helped Harry order breakfast by speaking to a "replicator" in the wall. It gave him a breakfast that was similar to what he was used to. Then they found a table among the many that was in the large room and talked about his near future. It would mostly consist of tests in the basic subjects so they'd know where to start him in school. Winters also told him they would give him some books on history and culture that he could read as he had time.

She then showed him his room. It was like a small flat, except there were no windows and no kitchen. The large screen on the wall could function like a window, she told him, because it could show him what was outside. It was three rooms: a bedroom, a bathroom, and a small living room. It wasn't much, but it was all his and he appreciated it. It was also only one "deck" away from the main mess hall, which was always open. They had also put five different outfits in the drawers of his room, along with his original clothes. She showed him how to use the "new technology" in his quarters. This really didn't seem so bad he decided.

About the time they were done there, Winters received call to bring Harry to the bridge from someone named "Worf".

In the turbolift again, Winters looked at him very seriously. "We're going to the bridge, Harry." That was no surprise because she had told the lift that. "Technically, there aren't any active restrictions on coming here; however, you shouldn't do this unless invited. Captain Picard takes a very dim view of uninvited visitors unless you have a good reason to be there."

"I understand," he replied, matching her seriousness.

The doors opened and they walked out. Even though Harry had been told this was where he'd arrived, he had no memory of it. It was something special to behold though, very grand he thought. A quick glance showed that Captain Picard was not here, although a man with a dark hair and beard was looking at him with curiosity. Before he became too absorbed with his surroundings, he heard Winters say, "Lieutenant Worf? We're here for our appointment."

Harry turned and looked at the … man. The darker skin wasn't an issue, nor was the man's size - after all, Harry was used to Hagrid. But the bushy eyebrows and ridges on his forehead caught the young man by surprise.

"This way," the deep voice said before it called out, "Data?"

If Worf had surprised him, Data did more so. Just as green skin on a person had been a surprise, Harry had never imagined someone having a slightly golden tone. This wasn't a suntan brown, but actually golden. The yellow eyes were not expected either.

"Hello, I am Data." He held out his hand.

Harry slowly extended his and shook hands, but it didn't feel right. "I don't understand," he finally said, having trouble putting his feelings into words.

"If you mean why does my hand feel different, it is because I am an android," Data explained.

"What's an android?"

"An android is-"

"Data!" Worf called sharply.

The android looked up and nodded. "Perhaps that is an answer for when we have more time. If you'll follow Lieutenant Worf?"

Harry started to walk and asked, who he wasn't sure, "What kind of person is Lieutenant Worf?"

"He is a Klingon," Data answered swiftly.

Harry looked at Winters with a little bit of desperation.

"Don't worry, we'll discuss all the major species later today if you like. I can also explain about androids," she assured him.

"Thank you," he told her, suddenly feeling very lost.

A moment later they were in a room with a large table and Harry's things were there.

A pretty woman with dark hair and dressed in blue joined them. "Hello, I'm Deanna Troi, ships' counselor. I'm an advisor to the Captain and I help the crew make adjustments with difficult situations. I thought I might be able to help today and perhaps we could talk sometime in the future?"

"Err, sure," Harry said, suddenly feeling very tongue tied. He thought she was pretty although definitely too old for him.

The counselor smiled changed to be a little more amused for a moment before she started the meeting. "We have your things here, but we were curious about them because we didn't understand. Would you be willing to explain?"

"I'll try," he told her, hoping he could without giving too much away. "Most of these things are family heirlooms and I really don't know too much about them and I don't have the ability to ever create more. I, uh, I haven't learned enough to do that."

"What are these?" Data asked, pulling the two "sticks" over.

"Those are called wands," Harry said. "We use them in school for pointing at things and moving small things around. The teachers also use them for that, and for rapping us on the top of head when we do something they don't like."

Troi and Winters chuckled; Data nodded.

Worf scowled. "Our scans show something inside but I didn't see any holes or cracks to insert anything."

"I have no idea. I bought mine in a store from a man who makes them for seven gold coins. He's considered an expert in making them and one of the few who can," Harry explained.

"What type of cloth is this?" Worf asked as he slid the silvery material over.

"That is also a family heirloom and goes with the ring," Harry told them, glad that the cloak didn't seem to work for them. He'd be careful not to put it on in front of them. "I was told the cloak is made from an animal called a Demiguise. It's special because it's very hard to capture a Demiguise to shear it and make this material, hence why it's an heirloom and passed down. The ring is also from an ancestor and I have one named Godric from centuries ago, or so I've been told. I assume that's why there is a 'G' on it, but it could be from a different ancestor; I don't know much about my family since my parents died when I was a baby."

Data nodded at the explanation as he put the ring on the cloak.

"It is very pretty," Troi told him.

"It's only worn on special occasions," Harry told her, or at least he thought they were special.

"This is your personal item," Worf said as he slid the last item over, "but why can't I open it?"

Harry picked up the Mokeskin bag with a smile, glad to see that it had survived. He put the long drawstring around his neck before he opened the "little bag". "You can't open it because you aren't me," Harry finally said as he carefully pried it open and put his fingers in to pull out a few gold coins, something that would have obviously fit inside based on looking at the outside. He didn't dare pull out all of its contents to show it was a little bigger on the inside than the outside. "It's great for holding money and other small but important things." He held out his hand to show them the coins.

"How is it possible for only you to be able to open it?" Data asked very puzzled.

Harry shrugged. "I couldn't make one of these if my life depended on it so I can't tell you how it works, but it was given to me and I appreciate it," he said simply as he put the coins back and closed the bag before h picked up all of the items, although he did put the ring on his finger as it made it easier to carry. "If we could go back to my room, Mrs Winters, I'd like to put these away so they don't get lost."

"Of course, Harry."

"Thank you for explaining what you could," Deanna told him with a smile that reminded him of a few of the girls from Hogwarts, although Deanna had curves that few of those girls could match.

"I hope it was helpful, despite what little I know about some of the things. If I had known I was going to come here, I would have brought more with me," he gave them all a grin, "but this was a real surprise to me."

"Thank you," Data told him very sincerely. Worf half-grunted the same.

— — —

When Ada Winters had led Harry out, Worf looked at the rest of them. "I don't think he was very truthful."

They all looked at Deanna and she sighed, knowing this was the main reason she had been invited too. "Actually, he was truthful about most of it. The parts that weren't true seem to be mostly lies of omission - I think - and most of those came during the discussion of the wands."

Worf growled with unhappiness.

"Worf," she said a little sharply to get his attention. "If you were in his place, transported somewhere completely foreign, would you explain all of your secrets when asked less than one day after you arrived?"

The head of security's mouth twitched as he considered his response, obviously biting back several more crude answers. "No, but I don't trust him either."

Troi smiled. "I didn't say you shouldn't watch and observe him, just that he has good reason not to trust us completely at this time." Pleased that they understood her point, she left the two men behind. She needed to create a report of this and schedule some time to talk with the young man in a few days to see how he was adjusting.

— — —

Harry's head was spinning, or so it felt like. The rest of the morning was spent discussing the major intelligent species in the Federation and learning who the senior officers on the ship were (he'd found out the bearded man on the bridge was the First Officer). The afternoon was spent taking tests.

He felt reasonably certain that the teachers here didn't think very highly of his teachers in his "home world". There was no way he could tell them that he hadn't been taught at what they thought of as normal school for years. Fortunately, they were going to let him work independently so he wouldn't have the embarrassment of sitting in classes with the much younger students in half of his classes.

Harry only saw a few others near his age at lunch and they all were a couple years younger than he was. That was because by the time they reached his age, many had left their family and had gone to some university, usually on Earth, or in a few cases had left for Starfleet Academy - or so he had been told.

As he reached his room after his last test, he found a boy about his age but dressed in the red and black of Starfleet leaning against the wall by his door.

"Err, can I help you with something?" Harry asked, unsure what was going on.

"Maybe," the boy said with an amused look. "I'm Wesley Crusher." He held out his hand and they shook. "My mom, the doctor, thought that maybe you'd like to meet someone your age."

Harry relaxed a little. "Sure, won't you come in." Harry paused by the door as he'd been shown and let it open. Apparently it could sense that he was there. The door stayed open for Wesley too.

"Nice," Wesley said as he looked around.

"Nice? It's bare," Harry pointed out as Wesley stuck his head into the bedroom to give it a quick check.

"So, it's all yours," Wesley pointed out before he dropped himself on the couch.

Harry took a chair. "As you said, so?"

Wesley shook his head. "Sorry, it's just that I have to share quarters with my mom. Yeah, I've got my own room, but still…"

"Ah," Harry said with a quick laugh. "I understand. I used to stay with the family of one of my best friends. I liked his parents, but having them around did, err, restrict us some." He did his best to focus on his new acquaintance so he didn't think about the Weasleys, or really miss them.

Wesley laughed for a moment. "Yeah, that's one way to put it. I'm trying to get into Starfleet Academy. I passed half of the test but missed the ship to get there to take the rest of the test. The Captain was good enough to make me an Ensign for the experience, so I shouldn't complain too much, but it'd be nice to have a place of my own."

"It is pleasant, but it'd be good to dress it up a little, you know?"

"Sure," Wesley agreed, "but that will happen with time. Want to go get some dinner? I was relieved a little early." He smirked at Harry. "I think I have you to thank for that."

"If you say so," Harry replied, pleased that it look like he was making a new friend.

A few minutes later they were in the mess hall. Wesley helped him get some food before they grabbed a table for four.

"Maybe we'll be joined by someone," Wesley said hopefully.

"Oh?" Harry asked as he looked around.

"I can be hopeful." Wesley gave him a secretive look. "There is this one girl, but I haven't been able to really get her attention so she'll do more than say 'hi'."

Harry couldn't help but smile at that. It felt so normal. "I had a girl that would have hopefully become my girlfriend; but now…" He couldn't finish; he'd never know if things would have worked out with Ginny.

"Sorry about that, it must be difficult coming here."

"I'm sure it'll be great after I get used to it, but yeah, I really miss my friends," Harry admitted.

Harry let Wesley do most of the talking, just giving comments from time to time. When a topic was exhausted, Harry would ask a question about something else and Wesley started talking about that.

That continued after dinner as Wesley gave him a tour of the ship and introduced him to a few more people.

When they bid each other good-bye for the night, Harry returned to his room - or quarters as everyone else called them. There was no doubt he and Wesley were friends, made even more so after Harry had learned that Wesley had lost his father when he was very young too. However, Harry suspected that Wesley would have had a better time talking to Hermione; Harry thought those two had similar personalities and Harry could tell that Wesley was a lot smarter than he was, much like Hermione was.

Harry went to bed feeling very pleased overall. He felt like he could fit in here given time. The fact that his quarters, as bare as they were, were better than what he was used to at the Dursleys was a nice bonus.

* * *

[virtual May 4]

The next day, Harry was mostly on his own, at least as far as his schedule went. He sat in what passed for the school's library and started on his classes. He took lessons on the computer, which was so far advanced beyond the computer Dudley had it wasn't even funny, and only asked for help from a teacher when he really was stuck. He had only done that twice this morning.

For lunch, he went to the mess hall on his own. He had just sat down when three girls came over and sat down at his table. They were all a year or two younger than he was, or so he thought. The real surprise was that one of them was the green girl - an Orion he'd found out yesterday.

"You don't mind if we sit here, do you?" the green girl asked as she put her tray down on the table and sat before he could give an answer. When he didn't say no, or anything really, the other two girls quickly did the same.

"I'm Camillia," the Orion said. "Is your name Harry?" She was looking him over and not really caring that he saw her doing it.

"Yeah, Harry Potter," he said as he worked to pull up what little Occlumency shields he had, hoping they would help. He'd swear the girl was a Veela. "Who are you?" he asked the others.

"Fran," the blonde said.

"Lauren," the brunette replied before looking at Camillia.

"I heard you came onboard at the last minute, accidentally." Camillia gave him a strange look. "How could you come here accidentally?"

He was sort of prepared for this. He and Wesley had talked about it since Wesley had pointed out his appearance would be hard to ignore and rumors happened. Rumors had hit him at Hogwarts, so he was not too surprised.

"I'm not really supposed to say too much, but it was a transporter accident," he replied, using the excuse the two teen boys had come up with.

The girls looked shocked. Lauren finally said, "That hasn't happened in years, maybe not even in the last 100 years."

Harry shrugged. "They didn't tell me what happened, but I think the problem was they put in the wrong coordinates."

Lauren relaxed, mostly. "Oh, that's not so bad then. That's really rare, but not unheard of. I thought you meant the transporter didn't put you back together correctly."

Harry blanched and pushed his mostly eaten lunch back. Wesley had told him about transporters last night and how they worked, in more detail than Harry could remember, including what could happened if all the fail safes failed. _That result_ hadn't sounded pretty and Harry wasn't sure he wanted to use the transporter, even if Wesley assured him the device was completely safe.

"Sorry," Lauren said very contritely. "I didn't mean to ruin your lunch."

"Don't pay her any attention," Camillia said. "There are a lot better things to talk about."

Harry didn't have to wonder too much about what Camillia was talking about as she slowly batted her eyes at him. If they had been at Hogwarts, he suspected she, Lavender, and Parvati would be close friends. He also guessed it wouldn't be too hard to get her into a "broom closet".

"It's all right," he told them, especially Lauren. "I was finished anyway and I need to get back to my class, such as it is. Thanks for stopping by. We'll have to have lunch again another day." He beat a hasty retreat. At the door, he glanced back and saw the other two glaring a Lauren. He felt sorry for her as he didn't think she had meant to do that, sort of like how Ron spoke without thinking so much.

So he didn't become too depressed, he ruthlessly pushed the thoughts of his old friends out of his mind and hurried back to his learning area. He really wanted to catch up to where he should be and knew that he needed a lot of work. He also didn't want depressing feelings right now - or really ever.

— — —

Sitting in his room that evening, Harry looked at his original wand - his broken wand. He also held the Elder Wand. At the present, he was waiting to see what happened. He had done a spell a few minutes ago and wanted to know if it tripped any alarms, so he waited and thought about his first wand which had been hidden in his Mokeskin bag.

Should he repair it or try to do something else with it? He considered trying to make a different kind of wand, like a ring, and using the phoenix feather as the core. However, even with the Elder Wand, he thought he couldn't do it because he didn't know enough. He wasn't too hard on himself about it because he thought even Hermione couldn't have done it.

After ten minutes had passed and no one came to his door, Harry pointed the Elder Wand at the broken holly one and cast, "_Reparo_." The wand moved back together and looked as good as new. He was pleased that the Elder Wand had survived and come with him. He suspected that the only reason he had survived the journey to this dimension was because he had all three Deathly Hallows on him, or in the case of the Elder Wand near him. That made him glad he'd put the ring in his pocket rather than dropping it on the ground in the forest.

"_Lumos_", he said with holly wand in hand. Satisfied with the results, he though "_Nox_" to turn off the light and hid the wands and his little bag behind the bottom drawer for his clothes.

He briefly wondered about Draco's wand since it had it come through also. It worked for him, just not well. Oh well, he supposed it was useful as a backup for his backup.

While getting ready for bed, Harry thought about his encounter at lunch. Camillia was something else and if all he was after was "a good time", he thought she'd agree; but he wasn't sure that was what he wanted. Fran had been very quiet, as if she was only there because of her friends. But Lauren, Lauren had tried to really talk to him, even if she had said the wrong thing. She was even kind of cute. Perhaps he should give her another chance, he thought with a smile.

* * *

(A/N: I'm sorry, but I just can't see anyone with a working brain dropping a major magical artifact in the forest instead of putting it in his pocket. Sure, he was just about to commit suicide, but wouldn't he have hoped that one of his friends might find it in his pocket later? So yeah, I changed that from the books.

Also, I'm stretching the Mokeskin bag a little - literally. I think in the books that it's probably only a little larger on the inside, unlike Hermione's purse that seemed to hold the entire world except for food. In book7, Harry put both halves of his broken wand in the bag plus some other small things (Snitch, Map, locket, piece of mirror) and that was when it filled up, or so it reads to me. So for this story, besides it's security properties, I'm going to say that the Mokeskin bag is about twice the size inside that the outside shows it to be. That's not going to matter for this story, but I want that for one extra little thing to show up for the sequel that I hope to write one day.)


	3. Keeping Calm

(A/N: Thanks to those who have pointed out various corrections.)

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Keeping Calm**

[virtual May 5]

On the morning of his third day there, Harry stopped by Sickbay before going to breakfast.

"Harry, I'm glad you stopped by," the redheaded doctor told him.

"I should have come yesterday, but I forgot," he told Doctor Crusher sheepishly.

"The computer can help you remember appointments," she told him as she waved her tricorder sensor over his body.

"Err, yeah, I'll try to remember that. We had computers where I came from, but nothing like this," he told her.

She smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"

He shrugged. "Well enough, but I've been taking it easy like you said I should."

"Your Anaphasic energy level is slightly above last time I saw you. Why don't you come back in three more days and let me measure it again. If it's still relatively stable, then I think we have a successful treatment for you. However," she gave him a warning yet with a motherly caring look, "if you become overly tired or otherwise don't feel well, I want you to come see me immediately."

"Yes, Doctor."

"Very good. Wesley told me he enjoyed his time with you the other evening," she said with a large implied hint.

Harry smiled, understanding what she was wanting. "I did too, although I wasn't sure how much he did. I don't know nearly as much as he does."

The mother sighed. "Harry, Wesley didn't enjoy it because he told you a lot of things, which he didn't tell me; but knowing my son, I would have guessed he talked a lot even without you telling me. He enjoyed the time with you because he spent time with another boy his age." Now she sighed. "And a boy who has his own quarters."

"I'm sorry…"

"Harry," she cut off his apology with a warning tone. "I didn't say that to make you feel guilty, especially when it's not your fault. I suppose I shouldn't have said that part, but he did tell me he enjoyed the evening for _both_ reasons." She looked at him for a moment. "Harry, I know you don't need a mother at your age, but if you need an adult to talk to who also has a mother's perspective, I am available."

He suddenly remembered something.

"What?" she asked at his changed expression.

"I'd forgotten I'm supposed to go talk to Counselor Troi this morning at ten."

Crusher shook her head in amusement. "Boys," she said good-naturedly before she tapped her communicator with her finger. "Computer, remind Harry Potter that he has an appointment with Deanna Troi at ten this morning. Send the reminder fifteen minutes before."

After she paused, the computer beeped and said, "Reminder recorded."

"I don't have one of those," Harry said, pointing to a communicator.

"Just use the computer in your room or at in the class where you study," she told him. "You can also send Wesley a message that way too and he'll see it when he has time."

"OK, thanks," he told her as he left.

— — —

The computer did remind him and he now stood in front of the door to Deanna Troi's office. He wiped his damp palms on his trousers before he pushed the button to announce his presence. He really hoped he didn't make a fool of himself. He had no romantic feelings for her, but she did something to him that felt like it turned part of his brain off, sort of like what Camillia did, although differently.

A moment later, the door hissed open and she stood there. Again, her uniform was blue, but this one was longer and fuller, which hid her figure much like school robes had done for the girls at school. He had no idea if she'd done that on purpose, but he appreciated it.

"Come in Harry and have a seat," she told him as the door closed and she sat in a comfortable looking chair and offered another to him. "We'll talk for a little bit and then you can return to class. How are you doing so far?" she asked pleasantly and friendly.

"Fine, except that I feel like I'm only learning how much I have to learn," he replied shyly. He thought he was beyond that nervous feeling with girls, but perhaps not. He took a deep breath and hoped for the best.

"Relax, Harry," she told him. "Everything we talk about in here is confidential. The only exception to that is if I feel that you're about to do something to hurt yourself or others. Were that true, I'd only talk with Doctor Crusher to figure out how to help you."

"Err, OK. I don't think I'll do anything that extreme."

She chuckled for a moment. "Despite the fact that we barely know each other, I don't think that you would. I do think you've been put in a stressful situation by coming to our time and universe, so I wanted to talk to you about that and find out if there's any way I can help you." Her voice was still calm and friendly.

"I, I don't think so, unless there's a faster way to learn stuff," he told her.

Deanna smiled and said with a little laughter in her voice, "I'm sorry, but you'll have to do that the hard way by studying. Have you been making friends?"

He brightened a little. "Yes, a few. It's hard to keep up with Wesley, but I like being around him."

Full laughter filled the air now. "Harry, don't compare yourself to Wesley. Very few people can keep up with him; I know I don't try. Instead, just be his friend. I think that would be good for both of you."

"I can do that," he said, thinking that he'd send a message to Wesley later. "I met a few girls yesterday."

"How did that go?"

"All right," he said with a shrug.

"I get the feeling that didn't go as well as you might have liked. Was there a problem?" she asked with concern.

Harry looked down at his hands in his lap. "Not with them, or not too much. Camillia was a little much maybe, but that really wasn't a problem. It…" He trailed off, unable to finish.

"It what, Harry?" she asked gently, as if sensing this was a topic he needed to talk about.

"It … reminded me a little too much of my friends that I'll never see again … and others," he said quietly surprising himself with that admission to an almost complete stranger. She seemed to put him at ease in a way he hadn't expected.

"Missing friends is normal," she told him gently.

"I know, it's just that there's so much loss," he said quietly as the thought about people who'd been killed, thrown into the Ministry camps, even Hermione who had Bella carve on her arm. He missed his friends greatly when he thought about them, but he also missed Sirius so much sometimes. He didn't know why this was hitting him now, and his chest tightening didn't help.

"Harry, is there more than just leaving your friends behind?"

He looked up sharply at her and panicked slightly, wondering if there was the equivalent of Legilimency here. "I just need time," he said before he jumped up and walked out her door quickly.

Harry had no idea where he was going, but he needed space right now. He needed time to center himself again. He also considered that doing something that didn't require thinking might be better. He'd love to go fly now, but there was no way he could do that in the starship. So he just walked aimlessly for several minutes becoming as lost in the ship as he was in his thoughts.

Turning a corner, he almost ran into someone because he was looking down. "Uh, sorry!" he apologize hastily.

"No problem, Mr Potter," the man told him.

Harry took a good look up and almost panicked when he realized just who he had nearly run over. "I'm really sorry, Commander Riker. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"As I said, no problem. How is it going for you so far?" He sounded like he really cared.

"Great," he said before he considered that he probably sounded sarcastic and maybe even whiny right now.

"That good, huh?" Riker said with an easy grin. "Why don't you join me for a little exercise? I was going there any way and I could use a partner and this is something that might help you some day." The first officer led him down one more door and into a place that was marked "Gym 2".

"Let's find you a gi, you can change behind the screen if you want," Riker told him as he grabbed a suit off the rack and shoved it at Harry. Riker grabbed one too and went behind another screen.

Not sure what to do, Harry took it and did as ordered. He'd learned on his second day here that Riker was the number two man on the ship, so Harry treated him like Picard and did what he said.

It wasn't too hard to figure out how to put the thing on. He brought his clothes out and saw Riker dropping his normal uniform on the floor by the wall, so Harry went over and did the same.

Riker grabbed a stick with a padded ball on each end and handed it to Harry before he grabbed one for himself. "We'll try something easy for you to get the hang of this. Use the stick however you want, but you have to stay in the circle." The commander pointed to the circle of about five meters across on the mat. "You can swing it," Riker did that slowly, "jab with it," he demonstrated slowly, "or any other move you want. The goal is to knock your opponent down or out of the circle. Each time you do that, you get one point. We'll play to five and then we can go again or I can show you something else."

"OK," Harry was starting to wonder if this was a good idea or not.

"Don't worry, Harry," Riker said with a smile that looked a little predatory, "they're padded," he banged his fist on the end, "so they won't hurt you much, just knock the wind out of you. Ready." He crouched slowly.

Harry crouched a little too and also turned slightly. He had no idea what he was doing, but he wanted to be as small of a target as possible.

Riker swung, extending the stick until his hands were both on one end and his arms straightened out. It wasn't a fast swing and Harry was able to pull back and not get hit.

"If it's not obvious, you can also use it to block," Riker commented before stepping forward and jabbing. Harry moved to the side and jabbed back. Riker moved a little and let it go by. "That's the idea."

Riker started with a jab before twirling his stick around quickly and swinging it low. Harry had no choice but to jump or get his legs swept out from under him and losing a point. Riker didn't stop swinging and brought it around again but higher, hitting Harry on the shoulder before it could be blocked. Be the time Harry stopped moving, Riker was leaning on his stick and smiling as well as pointing at Harry's feet.

When he looked down, Harry saw that both feet were outside the circle. "That's one for you," he said with a frown as he stepped back in.

"It is," Riker grinned. "Ready?"

Harry answered with a jab. Riker deflected it with the middle of his stick and tried a half swing, but Harry was already backing up and starting his own swing. They continued on until Riker tried to swept Harry off his feet again. This time, when Harry jumped he also went forward, jabbing as he landed. He caught Riker in the chest when he was off balance and knocked the man down on his butt.

Breathing heavily, Harry backed up and said, "That's one for me, right?"

Riker's predatory grin returned. "Yes, it's one-one. I guess I don't have to go quite so easy on you."

Over half an hour later, Riker put Harry down on the mat for his fifth point to Harry's three. Reaching down, he let Harry grab his hand before hauling the young man up. "Good work out, Harry."

"Thanks," Harry said, breathing just as hard as his opponent. "I think that was what I needed. It was fun." He suspect the commander hadn't tried his hardest to win.

"I appreciate your willingness to spar with me. We can try it again sometime if you like." Riker wiped his brow on his sleeve. "There are other games we can try or I could even teach you hand-to-hand combat. I think you'd do very well at that. In fact, I could show you the basics and then Worf could teach you the advanced moves."

"Worf? I don't think he likes me," Harry said suddenly, surprising himself by his opening his mouth too much again. He was getting as bad as Ron today; he pushed that thought away, but his depressed feelings wasn't quite as bad as early this morning, just almost.

Riker chuckled. "Relax, Harry. Worf doesn't dislike you, but he doesn't like anyone either until he gets to know them. Once you're his friend though, he'll do anything to help you. I consider him a very good friend now. Although that did take a while to happen, I'm glad it did."

"Right," he said a little dubiously.

Riker chuckled again and slapped Harry on the back. "I understand your skepticism, but trust me, it's true. Grab your clothes and head back to your quarters. You can shower and change there. Drop the gi into the clothes freshener and it'll be returned here automatically. It's tagged so it's obvious it's not yours personally."

"All right, thanks Commander." Harry hurried out and back to his room.

As he finished getting dressed, he considered his situation a little more. This morning had taught him that the people here were prepared to fight if required, and Wesley had told him that the ship was armed with some very deadly weapons, again, if required.

He sought out a replicator that was not in a heavy traffic area and after a few tries had a leather arm band that was about 4 cm wide and only a little loose on his upper forearm. Returning to his room, he pulled the Elder Wand out of its hiding place and put it under the leather band and inside his forearm before pulling down his long sleeve to hide it. It would be a little difficult to get to quickly, but a speed draw probably wouldn't be needed. He had to admit that wearing it again made him feel safer.

Harry didn't see the girls in the mess hall because he was so late to lunch, but that was fine. He wasn't sure he was ready to see them just yet. Perhaps tonight. He'd also send a message to Wesley about doing something together tomorrow night. Maybe he could even get the other boy to tell him which girl he liked.

— — —

As Harry hurried out of the gym, Deanna stepped out of her hiding place from behind one of the changing screens. "Thanks, Will."

"So what was this all about? I was really surprised when you called and asked me to do this, not that I minded because it was a lot of fun," he told her. "He also seems like a good kid."

She motioned him to the chairs on the side; he grabbed a bottle of water on the way. After he had taken a long drink, she told him, "I had my first session with Harry this morning."

"Deanna, you're not supposed to—"

"No," she interrupted him, "I won't tell you what he said, but I will say that there is a lot more to him than we first thought. Or perhaps I should say we didn't stop to think about what we'd seen and heard. Think back to when he first arrived. What did we see?" she asked him pointedly.

"After being nearly blinded, him on the deck and the two halves of a body. I've seen worse, but it's still not something I prefer to look at," Riker admitted.

"And what did the captain say about his talk with him in sickbay?"

Riker thought about. "He said Harry came here as the final act of a war."

"And therefore?" she led him to a different set of thoughts than before.

"He's …" Riker stopped and his eyes went wide. "He's been in a war, probably for multiple years at eighteen … my god, what a life. No wonder he has reflexes that make me envious." He gave her an intense look. "Are you saying he has post-traumatic stress syndrome?"

"Will, he's normal and yet he's not. I don't think he's a danger to anyone, but I also think it would be a very bad idea to put him in a stressful situation before he's had time to fully come to grips with the war being over. He needs friends and he needs to live a normal life for a while. I also think he needs a communicator."

He blinked at the sudden non-sequitur and just looked at her. "Why? Those are for Star Fleet personnel only so we can communicate with each other instantly for work, in emergencies, and on missions."

"They also do two other things, one you've hinted at," she said, still leading him to her conclusions.

"Why would it be important that he be seen as Star Fleet? Because that's all I alluded to."

"It's the identity factor, Will. It shows you belong to a group, a team. He needs that so he'll feel like he's fitting in and a part of us. He also needs the one more thing that it does," she stated and looked at him.

"Oh, it would let us know where he is," Riker said with a nod.

"Yes. I could only direct you to run into him because I followed him and he wasn't paying attention to much of anything other than his own thoughts at the time. If I hadn't done that, he could have gone to places we'd be searching for hours to find him," she said.

"Probably not, the sensors can tell us where life forms are on the ship, although it might take a few minutes before we figured out which was his because of all the families on board," he explained.

"Maybe," she said, "but would you be willing to bet the ship on that? What exactly does he do with that Anaphasic energy? No one knows but I suspect he really does even though he won't say. I also know he didn't tell us everything about the items he brought with him. What if he could use his resources to hide?" she speculated. As he seriously considered that, she added, "He's also becoming friends with Wesley Crusher. Could Wesley hide from the sensors if he wanted to?"

Riker shook his head in chagrin. "I wouldn't bet against that one and Wesley probably would tell him if asked." He gave her a pointed look. "Is the ship and crew safe with him here or do we need to get him off at the first possible opportunity? I'm asking as first officer."

She took a deep breath and thought about it for a moment. "I'll stand by what I said. Keep him out of 'fight or flight' situations and you have nothing to worry about. Even in a highly stressful situation, he's probably fine because this is so different from his old world. If you really want help him and make him safe, he needs genuine friends and he needs connections to people. He needs a family, but that's a long term goal that will have to happen on it's own."

"I'll see what I can do," he promised.

"Thanks, Will," she told him as she stood. With a smirk, she also said, "You need a shower too."

He watched her walk out as he considered what could be done. Personnel was his responsibility, until it came to the senior staff. There was one thing he could do right now … well, after a shower.

— — —

Riker walked back onto the bridge a little over an hour after he'd left in a hurry. When the captain looked up, the first officer preempted the question he knew was coming after Deanna's call and his hasty departure earlier. "The situation is in hand but I could use a moment of your time, Captain."

"Of course, Number one." Picard rose and headed for his ready room. "Mr Worf, you have the bridge."

"Mr Crusher, if you could join us please?" Riker watched the young Ensign lock his board and rise, his replacement already coming down from the upper bridge area. When they arrived, the captain was already behind his desk and raised an eyebrow at their third.

As soon as the door closed, Riker looked at the Ensign and remained standing as well. "Mr Crusher, I need you to be as honest as you can for this conversation, but please be aware that there are some questions I can't answer for you."

"Yes, sir."

"Are you developing a genuine friendship with Mr Potter?"

Crusher looked shocked at the personal question and the very serious look on the commander. Eventually, he stammered, "Y-yes sir. Why?"

Riker saw concern on his captain's face and knew the man had already jumped to the proper conclusion even without the why. "Mr Crusher, I want you to continue that. Be as natural and normal as you can. In fact, I'm giving you an order that if Mr Potter needs you as a friend, you will consider that your number one priority. I don't care if that means you're walking around the ship and laughing at jokes with him instead at navigation. There's plenty of time for training later.

"Please understand, I'm not asking you to spy on him nor am I asking for you to tell me or anyone else what you two talk about. I'm giving you this order because I believe Mr Potter needs a friend and it is to everyone's benefit that he have one. He's had some tough times in the past and he needs some easy time now as he adjusts to living in this very different world from his original one." Riker smiled for the first time. "He needs to be a teenager and I can't think of anyone better to help him do that than another teenager, no matter how adult you are most of the time."

Wesley Crusher stood there for a moment before he finally said, "I think I understand, sir. You need me to keep the ship safe from him."

"Not quite. I need you to keep Mr Potter calm and safe from everything else. Keeping Mr Potter calm and safe keeps everyone safe, including the ship. If you're present and trouble finds him, I want you between him and that trouble so he doesn't have to deal with it. Also, tell no one about this, not even your mother. If you need to talk about this, see myself, the captain, or Counselor Troi. She doesn't know about this yet, but I'll make sure she does."

"Yes sir."

"You may return to your duties."

"Thank you, sir."

Riker sank into a chair as the door closed behind the ensign.

"Mr Potter isn't as innocent as we think, is he?"

"I'm not trying to be annoying, Captain, but it depends on how you define innocent. In some ways, he's probably still very innocent; in others, not at all." Riker repeated his conversation with Troi, which caused the captain to get up and get a cup of tea from the replicator and think for several long moments. Riker grabbed a cup of coffee.

When they sat back down, Picard said, "I can't believe I missed that." He looked upset with himself.

"We all had the same facts and missed it. Deanna only put the pieces together because of something in their session, whatever that was," Riker pointed out.

Picard tapped his communicator, "Picard to Ada Winters".

"Ada Winters. What can I do for you, Captain?"

"Are you some place you can talk freely?"

"Yes, Captain."

"I'm curious about Mr Potter. How is he doing?"

"Interesting that you should ask, Captain," her smile was obvious from her tone, "as I've been grading his tests from yesterday. He ranges from fifth through the eighth year, depending on the subject. My first thought was that he's not a good student to be five to seven years behind where he should be, but in looking at his tests, I see he's very articulate and writes good essays. He's also learning the material very quickly so far. I can think of no reason for him to be so far behind other than he had an extremely poor school."

"Or perhaps he was not in school for several years?" the captain ventured, wondering just what sacrifices Potter had made because of the war.

"That would be a viable and probably better explanation," she conceded.

"How is he with his peers?"

"I've no complaints, Captain," she answered without hesitation. "He gets along well with others, despite that he works mostly independently. I also keep an eye out for him during lunch and other than getting a little too much attention from the girls because he's new, again, he's practically a model student."

Riker chuckled quietly at that comment and noticed the captain smiled slightly.

"I'm very happy to hear he's doing well, Mrs Winters. I appreciate your extra efforts. Picard out." He looked at his first officer. "It seems Mr Potter is very contradictory."

"He is. He's seems so easy going in casual conversation, but in the gym, I found a very competitive side and reflexes that I'm envious of," Riker admitted.

"I seem to recall that you have your own competitive streak, Number One."

Riker's expression twitched for a moment. "That's probably true, sir."

It was Picard's turn to be amused. "I'd suggest a weekly exercise session with Mr Potter to continue what you started today. It would give you an opportunity to personally monitor the situation."

"I was already planning to do that."

"Then I believe that's all we can do for now," Picard said.

"You don't want to give him a communicator now?" Riker asked as he put his cup in the recycle chute.

"Not yet. I don't want him to think we're monitoring him."

"As you wish, sir." Riker walked back out and took his chair.

Noticing he had a message on his console, Riker saw a forwarded message from Wesley Crusher that Potter had asked him to hang out with him tomorrow evening. The suggested time was an hour before Crusher's shift normally ended. He granted the shift change and scheduled a replacement. He then sent a message to Deanna about Wesley's confidential order.

He couldn't help the mental image he'd developed while talking to Deanna. He really hoped Potter wasn't a volcano waiting to blow; hopefully, he was dormant.

— — —

Harry looked around while he ate dinner alone at a small table. Several of the other students saw him and smiled or nodded and Harry returned the gestures. As he was about to give up, he finally saw Lauren as she turned to look at something. She was sitting with her back to him and eating dinner with a woman in a blue uniform, which he assumed was her mother even though the two didn't look much alike.

The woman patted Lauren on the shoulder before leaving. The girl sat there for a moment and seemed to be looking down but not eating.

As the woman walked out of the mess hall, Harry walked over and took the recently vacated seat. "Do you mind if I finish dinner here?" he asked, trying to give her what he thought was a winning smile. It must not have been too bad because she smiled and looked down, a light blush on her face.

"No, that'd be nice," she said a little shyly before looking back up to see his expression for a brief moment before looking back down and played with her food a little.

"Thanks," he told her, hoping he didn't look as nervous as he felt. "I don't mean to be rude, but was that your mother?"

"Yeah," she said quietly. "She just left for her shift and that wasn't rude."

"Thanks. So, uh, how are you?" He tried to take small bites from what was left of his dinner.

She still played with her food, pushing it around and not really eating. "Fine, I guess." She didn't look at him except in quick glances.

Harry sighed and hope he understood why she didn't seem to be comfortable around him. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for what happened at lunch yesterday. I didn't mean to make things difficult for you with your friends."

Lauren froze and looked up at him.

"It was just bad timing, or really a bad topic at a bad time, otherwise it probably wouldn't have bothered me, at least not too much." He gave her an apologetic grin when caused her to smile for a few seconds. "Can I make it up to you by escorting you around the ship? You know, walk and talk for a bit?"

She smiled a little larger and looked up at him, holding his gaze this time. "Thanks, and yeah, I think I'd like that."

They both rose and put their dishes in the recycler and walked out together. Harry saw a few boys that he'd had lunch with on the first day look at him with Lauren and then whisper to each other, but he ignored them and walked on.

"Where would you like to go?" he asked her. "I'm sure you know the ship better than I do."

"I don't care," she told him. "Is there some place you haven't seen yet?"

Harry thought for a moment before grinning at her. "Yeah, I'd like to find some place to look out at the stars. My, err, quarters don't have a window."

She looked at him for a moment before giggling lightly. "All right, come on. I know the perfect place." She sped up their walk, forcing Harry to keep pace with her.

They took a turbolift up the deck ten and she led him to a room that had real wood for the double doors. Lauren stopped as they reached the doors.

"Is something wrong," Harry asked her.

"You're eighteen, right? That's what they said," she asked in a rush.

"About that, so?"

"It'll be all right then." She grabbed his arm with her hand and led him in.

"What will be all right?" he asked, hoping they weren't about to get into trouble.

"Over here," she told him and led him to a small table for two next to one of the big front windows.

"Wow!" he said as he fumbled for his seat and sat, not taking his eyes away from the view. "Is that orange, green, and blue thing a planet?"

"Yes, Ardoni IV," she told him. "Would you like something to drink while we talk?"

"Whatever you're having," he told her absently before forcing himself to turn away from the window and look at her after a long moment. "Sorry about - ah!" He jerked back in his seat with his right hand going for his left sleeve because an unexpected woman in a big hat was standing right next to their table. Realizing there really was no danger, he scratched a fake itch on his arm. "My apologies, I didn't expect someone else to standing right there."

The dark skinned woman gave him a warm smile and a gentle answer. "No worries. You're not the first to be entranced by the view." She lifted her hand to indicate the large windows. "It's part of why I like working here. My name is Guinan. Who might you be?"

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter, and this is Lauren," he said, starting to breath normally again after his small scare.

"Well, good evening to you both and welcome to Ten-Forward. What can I get you to drink or maybe to snack on? I have a great fruit punch." She looked at Lauren conspiratorially. "It's even got a small kick."

"We just finished dinner, but the punch sounds good to me," Harry answered. Lauren nodded her agreement and Guinan left them.

"Sorry about that," he told her before she could say anything. "I didn't mean to ignore you, but the view is splendid, brilliant, really."

She giggled lightly. "I love your accent."

Harry chuckled. "To me, you're the one with the accent."

They both started laughing at each other as Guinan returned with two glasses. "Enjoy," she said pleasantly before quietly leaving as quickly as she'd arrived.

Harry sipped his drink and smiled approvingly. "I like it. Sweet but not too sweat and with something that gives it a little zing."

"Zing?" Lauren asked, looking like she was having to suppress another giggle.

"Got a better word?"

"No," she replied "It's probably just a little Synthehol. It's not real alcohol, you can't get drunk on it, but it's sort of like real alcohol, or so I've been told."

"You've never been in here before, have you?" he asked suddenly. "That why you asked how old I was."

"I have," she told him a little defensively before relaxing again, "just never without my mother. I'm sort of border-line old enough, but with you it's all right."

He looked out the window for a few seconds before forcing himself to look back at her. "Thank you for bringing me here. I think you've shown me a new favorite place to come when I'm bored."

"You're welcome," she told him, looking a little shy again. "So, what do you do when you're not in class?"

— — —

Guinan was looking through her stock and mentally taking inventory, with her back to the bar. As she turned around, she jerked a little in surprise as someone was sitting on a barstool who hadn't been there only a few seconds earlier. Only a few people could sneak up on her like that, and of course it'd be _him_ - the one she couldn't stay upset with for long. She supposed it was their little game.

"Commander Riker, what a surprise," she said in her usual soft voice, despite her being slightly annoyed with him at the moment for him succeeding in surprising her. "The usual?"

"Guinan, a pleasure as usual. Please, but only one this evening," he told her with his usual grin which melted her annoyance faster than he knew and faster than she liked to admit.

The scoundrel, she thought. "Oh? Business tonight or a serious game?"

"I wear so many hats it's tough to say at times," he replied a little mysteriously as his eyes swept the room, pausing only a little longer in one place.

She placed the small glass of real whiskey with a single ice cube in front of the man before putting the bottle away. She knew that when he said one, there would be no more. Guinan had also caught his gaze. "Is there any problem, Commander?" She did like to stay on top of things, information especially, and she might even get to hear an interesting story if she was lucky.

"I don't see any, nor would I really expect to find it here. You've always run a taunt ship," he said, hoisting his glass in her direction before taking a sizeable sip.

"Yet somehow I feel you're wearing an unusual hat tonight?" she told him equally cryptically before glancing around herself. The commander was a semi-frequent visitor to her domain, but he was definitely not acting like his usual self she observed.

"Have you met Mr Potter yet?" he asked suddenly.

Her guess confirmed, she nodded. "Seems like a nice young man."

"I would agree. Who's with him? I don't recognize her," he said casually.

Guinan wasn't fooled. "I didn't know you played matchmaker," she countered

"Me?" He acted genuinely surprised. "Hardly," he said with a snort before taking another long sip of his drink. "They can date whomever they like."

She studied the couple by the window for a moment. "Lauren's a well-behaved young lady, if that's what you're asking. Last I heard, she was undecided about what she wanted to do after she finished her normal classes, but I would expect her to follow her mother's footsteps into the sciences, probably medical though."

Riker nodded. "It does look like they're having a good time." He drained the rest of his glass, though he held it instead of putting it down. "In fact, while I don't expect any trouble in here because I know you can handle it, it would be a good idea to make sure trouble gave them a wide birth."

"I see," she said slowly, glancing back to the young couple again.

"If you have any difficulties, not that I expect you to, be sure to tell _trouble_ that I would take it _personally_ if Harry was upset." He looked her in the eye and didn't flinch, which not many could do, the captain being the other obvious exception - not counting Data and La Forge, who had technology on their side.

"I can't imagine that being required, but I'll be sure to pass the message if needed," she told him, her mind starting to whirl with questions.

"We know we can count on you. Have a good evening, Guinan." He slammed the glass down harder than needed, making a loud bang that caused a number of heads in the area to turn to look at him as he rose off the barstool.

Turning, Riker had his charming look on as he said hello to a few people he passed, including a wave and "hello" to Harry, treating the teen exactly like the rest of the commander's friends.

"Oh smooth, William, but what the hell is going on?" she asked in a whisper, also considering that he had said "we" in his last comment and he'd expected her to pick up on that.

Reaching down she picked up a clean glass by feel alone and held it up pretending to inspect it as she continued to look at the young man that was causing such a stir on the ship, although he appeared to be oblivious to the rumors about him. Setting the glass on the bar, she greeted a man who'd never be able to sneak on her no matter how hard he tried. "Good evening, Lieutenant Barclay."

— — —

As Harry crawled into bed that evening, he turned his energy lamps on and considered the last few hours. They had been a little shy with each other at first but then had a blast for the rest of the evening. He'd walked Lauren back to her quarters and then given her a kiss on the cheek. She'd given him a big smile and then a chaste kiss on the lips before hurrying into her quarters. They had even called each other friends and really meant it. It all made him smile in a way he really hadn't for the last year.

For a brief moment, Ginny intruded on his thoughts. While he wished he could have had time to find out if they could have gotten back together, he knew truly that was not to be now. He silently wished her a happy life and did his best to let that part go. Letting all but his two best friends go wasn't overly hard now. He couldn't quite let go of Hermione and Ron yet, but he knew he'd have to let go soon.

One thing he would not let go of was his magic. Placing his wand in front of him on the bed, Harry held his hand out and concentrated. He knew he didn't need to say the words out loud, but he said them in his mind. It took a moment but the wand started to rise. The movements were shaky at first but became more steady with practice. It wasn't much, but it was a start, he thought with a grin.

There was no way to prove it, but he thought he had been able to do that because of losing that piece of Voldemort that was in him. Perhaps sitting under the energy lamps helped a little, but he didn't think that was the real reason he could do wandless magic now. He would test that idea tomorrow, but he was sure that he would be successful without the lamps too. He'd try to practice a little every day until he could do all the most commons spells.

For a moment, he fantasized that he could use wandless magic while fighting, perhaps hit just a little harder. That almost caused him to laugh out loud.

He put the wand on his bedside table and turned off the room lights, leaving only the faint glow of the energy lamps. He felt mostly at peace for the first time since he had come here. Everything was going so well considering he was in a place where there were so many differences from what he had grown up with … but he'd be ready when things didn't go so well because that always happened to him. His life always took strange twists. Constant vigilance, he reminded himself.

* * *

(A/N: JoeLawyer asked me if there were any species that could detect Harry's magic. I replied that I could think of 1, but he won't meet them in this story. While doing a final polish on this chapter, I started thinking about Guinan more. I think she might could detect something different about Harry if she knew to try, but she wouldn't be able to put a name on it. She'd just say he was different.

Err, why did the music just change? :-)


	4. A Saving People Thing

(A/N: Time to set a few things in motion… :)

* * *

**Chapter 4 - A Saving People Thing**

[virtual May 6]

Harry, feeling much better after his new outlook from last night, finished his work for the morning and hurried not to the mess hall but to the gym he had been shown yesterday. Walking in and searching the room with his eyes, he was a little disappointed Riker wasn't there, but then Harry berated himself for expecting the commander to be there every day. He was a busy man running a starship.

Next to the mat where he'd worked out yesterday were two men maybe seven years or so older than he was, both drinking some water and looking like they had already been exercising, although he didn't see any of the padded sticks next to them. The sticks were still in the rack on the wall.

"Hi," one of them said. "If you're looking for some exercise, you can join us. Jose here can't keep up with me so he could use some help."

"In your dreams, Nick." Jose looked at Harry. "You are welcome join me and help me kick Nick's ass to teach him not to brag."

Harry couldn't help but quietly laugh at the banter between to two very obvious friends. "I didn't know you could do two against one."

"Sure, it's just a little harder for the lone guy, but if he's good enough…" Nick shot Jose a smirk.

Jose ignore that teasing and asked, "Since I haven't seen you before, do you know where the outfits are?"

"Yeah, I'll get one and change." Harry went over and grabbed a gi off the rack that looked his size, like Riker had done yesterday. A few minutes later he joined the other two.

They surprised him by handing him small pads with straps before putting some on themselves, covering hands, elbows, knees, and feet. "Don't want anyone to get hurt," Nick said off-handedly.

"I didn't wear anything like this yesterday; the sticks were padded," Harry explained.

"Oh?" Jose said as he tightened his last pad. "Then someone was taking it easy on you. Come over to the mat and we'll show you how to fight without the sticks. Everyone needs to know at least a little about taking care of themselves."

"OK, I suppose," Harry said, a bit surprised at the way this time was going. Then again, perhaps this would be fun too.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"Harry."

"All right, Harry, we'll show you a few basics, how to hit, how to fall without hurting yourself, things like that, then we can have a little fun. What do you say?" Nick asked.

Harry looked them over. Both were more muscular than he was, but not much taller. "All right."

They took fifteen minutes to show him a few simple things before Nick stepped back and let Jose and Harry spar.

It was obvious that Jose was holding back, but Harry still felt like he was doing reasonably well for a beginner. At least he was rarely hit, and even when he was, it was always a glancing blow that didn't really hurt. His lessons learned from his younger days with "Harry Hunting" that were led by his cousin, quickly returned to help him. Blocking Jose's punches was easier than catching a Golden Snitch, so that was no problem. Doing and blocking kicks were the hardest parts and he vowed to work on that.

"Not bad," Nick told him when they were taking a breather. "The kicks are giving you trouble, aren't they?"

"Err, yeah. I'm not really used to that," Harry admitted.

"Everyone has something to work on," Nick told him, not making it a big deal. "Still, you show some promise."

"You do," Jose agreed, "although you could use some muscle to help out. I can show you a little about that. It's a good thing to work on when you don't have a partner to spar with."

"All right," Harry agreed, silently agreeing with him because he felt like he was hitting as hard as he could and it barely seemed to move Jose. A couple of times he'd even tried to add a little magic to help, but he didn't think he'd done it right.

While they walked over to the other side of the gym, Nick said, "Harry, you do know that if you're in a real fight that you can and should use everything you've got to your advantage, right? You've got good speed and reflexes, use those and anything else you have."

"Yeah, I know," he said with a nod, "although I hope that never has to happen." _Again_, he added mentally.

"Me too, kid, me too; but they pay me to be ready anywayy," Nick said with a grin. "Let's see what Jose has to show you."

By the time Jose gave a demonstration with the weight machines, Harry had to leave hurriedly if he was going to have time for any lunch at all, and even then he'd really need to take the food back with him.

"Thanks, thanks a lot for showing me this," Harry thanked them for the second time as he gathered his clothes with his wand wrapped inside them.

"No problem," Jose told him. "We not here every day, but we are here some days during lunch and you're always welcome to join us. You're a fast learner and I like that."

Harry grinned, enjoying the compliment and the companionship with the two. "Later!"

As the boy hurried out, Nick turned to Jose. "Riker was right; he has potential."

"Damn right he does," Jose said as he rubbed the front side of his left shoulder. "I'll have bruises from some of his hits. It was really hard not to react to a few of his punches. I wouldn't think a kid as thin as he is could hit so hard. It was like something was helping him. I was also amazed by how fast he is."

"I agree. We'll come back in a couple of days and I'll be his punching bag then, although his kicks could really use some help," Nick commented. "I still wonder why Riker wanted us to help him like this."

"No idea," Jose said with a shrug. "But it was nice to get my workout in during duty time and not have to do it on my off time."

"That is nice," Nick agreed with a grin.

— — —

Harry had come back to his room after class to sit under the energy lamps while he read his text book. That caused him to chuckle quietly at the thought of reading a book via a large screen on the wall, something that would have been impossible to conceive of even a week ago.

He'd also taken a few minutes to work on his wandless magic, making the summoning charm work fairly well after about five minutes. The Banishing charm was a little harder, but he mastered that before he stopped this "magical work out". Maybe he'd work on the Stunning and Shield spells tomorrow.

Now, he considered the time as he tried to decide what to do. Deciding Wesley must have forgotten about him, he accessed his room's computer interface. "Computer, where is Wesley Crusher?"

He heard a beep before, "Wesley Crusher is on the bridge."

Wesley should have been here ten minutes ago, Harry thought. Maybe if he stood just barely outside the turbolift the captain wouldn't get upset with him. He turned off his lamps and left his quarters. With a smile, he thought that maybe if Picard wasn't there and Riker was that maybe Riker would show him around up there. There was something about the bridge that seemed so cool to him.

A couple of minutes later, the turbolift doors opened and Harry stepped out, took one step to the left, and pushed his back to the wall, trying to make himself as small and inconspicuous as possible. A quick look right showed Worf looking right at him and his eyes narrowing before a glower appeared. A glance back to the center showed the captain and commander seated, but not looking at him. Further away Data and Wesley were at their places and working at their consoles.

"Is there a problem, Mr Potter?" Worf's quiet but distinctly heard question caused all eyes to shift to him, even those who'd had their back to him.

Harry wanted to Disapparate right then, but managed to restrain himself to freezing. When no one said anything for a moment, Wesley saved him. "I forgot, I was supposed to be off fifteen minutes ago."

Riker's easy chuckle broke the tension. "Mr Crusher, perhaps you should secure your station before you go?"

Just as Wesley stood, a bluish-white line streaked across the main viewer and rapidly grew. Worf also called out, "Worm-" before the ship shuddered and did the equivalent of a stumble. Everyone who wasn't seated or holding on to something went flying, Harry included. He was just close enough to the rail around the upper area to grab it and wedge his feet against a vertical rails holding it up to avoid serious injury. He'd probably have a bruise or two on his arm and couple more on his legs, but he'd be a lot better off than the few who were thrown against the wall or other built-ins.

While Harry shook his head and mentally checked that everything that he could feel was still working, he heard the captain bark, "Report!"

"Captain, there is significant damage all over the ship. The inertial dampeners and forward shields saved us and took the most damage. The forward shields are gone and the inertial dampeners are down to 25 percent functionality." Data's calm voice helped, even if he did deliver the news faster than normal. "Captain," he turned in his chair. "We hit the end of a transwarp conduit, and…"

A loud voice from the speakers stopped the android and explained the problem for him. "Enterprise. We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." A greenish sphere with patterns all over the outside came into view on the main screen.

"Mr Data, get us out of here at top warp, whatever that is," the captain ordered with a touch of alarm in his voice.

"I am sorry, Captain; the warp core is offline. I do not believe the Impulse Engines will be enough," Data reported just as calmly as before but obviously trying to do something on his console to help.

"I am not going to become a Borg," Riker said fervently as he looked at the captain.

The ship shuddered and Worf called out. "They have us in a tractor beam."

"Nor will I let the innocents suffer that way," Picard said with determination. "We must self-destruct while we can."

"What?" Harry was surprised that came out of his mouth, but it must have because the top two officers turned and looked at him.

It was Riker who took pity on him. "I'm sorry we won't get to know each other better, Harry, but if we don't destroy the ship and ourselves, they will board and turn each of us into one of them and none of us will ever be our self again. We're too damaged to fight."

"Incoming communication," Worf said as the main viewscreen came alive. There was a picture from inside the other ship although no person was in the picture. "Enterprise. We will assimilate you. Return to us, Locutus of Borg."

Harry knew he didn't know everything that was going on, but he knew enough. He also saw a device in the background that looked somewhat similar to something Wesley had shown him on the tour through Engineering the other night. Pulling out his wand, he said, "No," as if commanding the situation to his will before Disapparating with a soft crack.

"Where did he go?" Worf called and pulled his phaser, although Harry was nowhere to be seen.

"Communications off," Picard called, wanting to start the self-destruct, forcing himself to ignore the strange action of their visitor.

"Wait, he is on the Borg ship," Data announced. Everyone turned and saw Harry on the viewscreen without any idea how he had gone there.

Picard wanted to save the young man, but there wasn't a thing he could do. Then he watched in awe as Mr Potter slashed his arm down diagonally, causing a crimson beam to come from the stick, wand he suddenly remembered, in his hand. He was the only one who recognized that the beam hit a "Borg Queen" who was walking towards the young man, but everyone could see her face freeze as she fell in two pieces, cut from her left shoulder to under her right arm.

Harry Potter then took one lunging step and stuck his wand in front of him, looking like a fencer. A thick white beam of light left his wand and raced for what Picard knew was their main transwarp coil. He had no idea what the beam of light was, but if it did anything useful against the Borg ship, it would be a one in a million shot, he thought. Yet, he hoped something good for the Enterprise would happen.

"Mr Data, plot the fastest course away from here at the best speed possible while keeping the best shields we have between us and them," Picard ordered, hoping for a miracle and trying to be prepared in case it happened. They all saw Harry disappear from the screen just before the beam hit the coil.

Less than a second later, a soft crack sounded by the turbolift and Harry shouted, "I think we need to go now!"

"Tractor beam down!" Worf announced loudly as the main viewscreen showed explosions starting on the Borg ship.

"Engage!" Picard barked uselessly as Data had already started them moving when the sensors told the android the tractor beam was gone. Everyone swayed as the damaged inertial dampeners tried to keep up and only mostly worked; fortunately they only had to compensate for the Impulse engines. He tapped his badge, "Captain to all hands, brace…"

As a bright light bloomed on the main viewscreen, they were all thrown more violently this time than the first time. Harry was thrown up and to the right. He had the presence of mind to cast a cushioning charm in front of him since secrecy was already lost. He hit and "fell" on the magically padded ceiling near the middle of the bridge just like Nick and Jose had shown him how to fall in the gym, then he cast one more charm beneath him as he fell to the floor and rolled. Quickly standing, he saw that he was the only one on his feet. Only Data was still in his normal place as he held onto his console. Everyone else was sprawled somewhere, most on the floor, the rest over a console or a railing.

Looking around, he saw Wesley crumpled against the wall and hurried over. He didn't know many medical charms, but Hermione had taught him a few, including the diagnosis spell. Wesley had a broken arm and a concussion; not that bad, he thought as he straightened the boy out to a more comfortable position on the floor.

Turning he saw the captain looking at him as the man rose from the floor and it was with an expression he'd seen many times, although always on Professor McGonagall in the past. "We all thank you for what you did, Mr Potter, but I believe you and I are going to have to have a frank talk about you and your capabilities."

There was no more normal now, Harry thought and answered the only way he really could. "Yes sir. Err, Wesley has a broken arm and a concussion; I think he'll be fine eventually." He saw Riker still on the floor and waved his wand over the man. "He's fine, just knocked out." Another wave of the wand and Riker started to groan and move. Picard just stared incredulously at the young man's actions and the results.

Harry moved around the room checking people.

When he got to Worf, the Klingon looked at him before he said, stiffly, "I am fine … and thank you."

"You're welcome," Harry replied with a small smile, realizing he'd found a crack in the man's emotional armor by saving the ship. He wondered how that would cause Worf to treat him now. Still, even at his gruffest worst, Worf was easily better than Snape on his best day.

Next was the young lady on the floor in a golden uniform. A diagnostic on her did not show good results. "She needs a doctor and very soon."

Worf tapped his communicator, "Sickbay." A static sounding click was all that was heard. "Intra-ship communications are down."

Picard tried too and received the same results. "Agreed. Worf, please take her to sickbay. I don't think there's much for you to do here at the moment," Picard ordered.

"Captain, we may have a critical issue," Data reported as he worked from his position. "I can't find a status from primary environmental control and secondary control reports as down." The android stood and walked over to the wall and put his hand next to it for a moment before turning to the captain. "I feel no air coming through."

Worf grunted as a thump was heard. All looked at him glaring at the turbolift doors as he said, "The turbolift won't open."

"We have to get word to Engineering about environmental control," Riker said. "This affects the whole ship. Data, you'll be the fastest. Take manual passageways to EC primary and see what you can do. You'll get to it first before you'd reach Engineering."

"I will try sir, but I may not get there in time if there are obstructions along the way," Data said as he rose.

"Do your best, Data, that's all we can ask," Riker told him.

Data left at a jog through the door to the conference room for the internal stairways, or really ladders between the decks.

"Captain," Harry spoke up tentatively. "I can take her to Sickbay and then go to Engineering to tell them what's going on," Harry offered, knowing he shouldn't hold back now that his magic was known and people were in danger. "It won't take me but a few seconds for each jump."

"Excellent idea, Mr Potter. Take Ensign Yarnley then tell Mr La Forge that Data has left to repair EC primary and he needs to send someone to repair EC secondary - top priority."

"Yes sir." Harry walked over to Worf who was still holding the injured woman that looked only a few years older than Harry. He struggled a little at first, not used to carrying someone that weighed as much as he did, but he held tight when Worf let go. "I won't let you down," he said before leaving in a louder crack than before.

"That's handy," Riker said.

— — —

Harry appeared in a corner of a chaotic sickbay. Every bed had someone in it, so Harry put her on the floor, almost dropping her while doing so.

"What are you doing?" a man in a blue uniform asked hurriedly as he worked on a man on the nearest bed.

"She injured; internal bleeding. She needs help soon or I think she'll die."

The man stopped and looked at him for a moment before he nodded. "All right, I'll look at her next in a moment. You can leave since you can walk."

Harry nodded and Apparated away, leaving a dumb-struck doctor behind.

— — —

Harry appeared at the edge of Engineering next to the door to the corridor. If he thought sickbay was chaotic, it was easily worse here. Looking around, he finally saw the Chief Engineer, whom he had met very briefly on his tour with Wesley.

"Chief La Forge," Harry called out as he ran over.

La Forge turned and said, "That's a new one. Wait, Mr Potter, you need to leave, this is not a good time and it's not safe here."

"Please, the captain sent me since the communicators are down."

Geordi snorted. "Yeah, tell me something I don't know as we're barely keeping things together here."

"Err, he said that EC primary is down and Data is off to try and fix it; and he said that EC secondary is also down and that is a top priority," Harry told him hurriedly.

La Forge took a deep breath and shook his head. "OK, I didn't know that, but most of our monitors and controls aren't working too well either." He paused for a moment before continuing, as if talking to himself. "It's going to be hard to get someone to fix that before the air starts getting really bad, assuming we can even repair it. Worse, it's over fifteen levels above us and I do know that the turbolifts are down."

"Is it close to deck fifteen?" Harry asked.

"It's on sixteen starboard side, why?" La Forge looked at him curiously.

"I can take someone to deck fifteen in a few seconds," Harry told him.

"That would work," he said before he raised his voice. "Barclay!"

"L-Lieutenant?" A man with sandy hair answered and hurried over.

The chief engineer looked at one of his best diagnosticians. "Secondary EC is down as is primary…"

"Oh d-dear." Barclay looked really worried.

"Mr Potter says that he can take you near it very quickly - somehow." La Forge sounded dubious but that didn't stop his acting on the idea. "Go with him and bring secondary EC back online as soon as you can since we don't know what condition primary is in."

"Y-Y-Yes sir."

"If you have anything electronic that is on, turn it off," Harry told him.

"But-"

"Turn it off or lose it," Harry insisted.

La Forge reached out and turned off Barclay's engineering tricorder. "Turn it back on when you get there. Go ahead, Mr Potter, I want to know how you got here so quickly and plan to get Reggi there."

Harry smiled as he grabbed Barclay's arm and looked him over to get the image in his head. "Like this." The two left in a crack of noise.

"Holy crap!" the chief exclaimed and pulled out his tricorder. All he could find was a very faint trace of Anaphasic energy that was dissipating rapidly. "I hope I have time to study that." Turning, he shouted, "Now that the warp core isn't going to kill us, someone tell me the status of the Impulse Engines."

— — —

Harry thought about his quarters and Apparated both of them there; Barclay looked like he'd seen a ghost he was so pale. "Sorry, no time for questions, Lieutenant, we have to run. We're on deck fifteen now." Harry pushed the man into motion for his door. By the time he had pushed the man into the corridor, Barclay was starting to come to his senses and led them to a special access door and then a ladder.

It took almost five minutes, but they finally arrived at secondary environmental control. If that trip took five minutes despite hurrying at a jog through the corridors and climbing the ladder as fast as he could, he would have hated to go over fifteen decks that way.

Reggi had his tricorder out and was scanning the equipment in a room that was only a little smaller than Harry's quarters.

Harry looked around and saw a large green hand sticking out from under the debris on the other side of this room where the ceiling had fallen. Realizing what had happened, he quickly started pulling the debris off Camillia's father. Once the body and head were clear, he did a diagnostic spell, but the results made no sense to him. After a moment, laughed at himself as he realized there was a good chance his medical spells wouldn't ever work correctly on an alien. At least he didn't appear to be bleeding as there was no blood on the floor.

"No, no, no," Barclay chanted in denial, causing Harry to turn around.

"What?"

"The main b-board is cracked and the only r-replacements are in an area that's been h-heavily damaged." Barclay looked devastated. "I don't th-think I can repair the unit."

"Can you pull the board out?"

"Well, yes, but I don't h-have a g-good one to p-put in its p-place."

"Just pull it out and hand it to me," Harry encouraged him. "Let me look hold it and look at it."

Reggi looked like the boy had lost his mind, but he did as requested anyway, just in case. After all, the engineer hadn't thought moving around the ship without a transporter was possible either.

Harry took the large electronic board in hand a moment later. "Where's the break?"

"T-There's a fracture h-here," Barclay said as he pointed.

Running his wand over it, Harry thought, "_Reparo_." Handing the board back, he said, "Check it now." When the engineer blinked at him, he repeated the command.

Barclay finally tested it and looked up amazed. "It's fixed! H-How?"

"Let's call it magic and move on," Harry said gently, knowing he was creating far more questions than answers for all the engineers. "The captain said we have to make this work top priority."

"R-Right." Barclay inserted the board and then turned the system back on. It whirred back to life and they heard a loud hissing sound behind them.

Harry cast a repair charm at the broken conduit and the hissing stopped. He looked at the engineer who was taking readings. "It's n-ninety p-percent efficient. G-Good enough for n-now."

"Great." Harry heard someone in the corridor outside so he stuck his head out and called. "Hey, we've got someone hurt in here." The two men came over and went into the EC room after Harry led the engineer out. "Electronics off," he said again. This time Barclay complied without help and Harry popped them back to Engineering.

It only took a moment to find the Chief Engineer, who was directing all hands to move a long beam that had come loose and was in the way.

"Good, you're back," the chief grunted as he struggled, "we could use your help."

"H-He said he fixed it with m-magic," Barclay proclaimed, or really all but whined at the supposed impossibility.

"Yeah, right," La Forge answered him without thinking, focused on holding up the beam and directing his team at the same time.

"I can help," Harry told him. "What did you need?"

"Grab the beam, it's heavy and we need to get it out of our way."

Harry cast a Featherweight charm on the heavy beam and everyone almost dropped it when it suddenly became so light. There were a lot of "What the hell?" type comments.

"Where does it go?" Harry asked, still with his wand pointing at the beam.

La Forge stared at him as did everyone else there. "I thought you had a single skill, but that's not so, is it?"

"I don't know how to answer that, but I can help you if you'll tell me what to do," Harry told him. "Where did this beam originally come from so I can put it back."

"We were going to move it out of the way for now, but if you can put it back up there, it's supposed to hold that catwalk up. It came loose and fell."

"Sure, just tell me when it's in place." Harry levitated the very light beam higher, forcing everyone else to let go. They watched it float above them as Harry walked it over to its normal place. Geordi directed the movements and a short time later it was back where it should have been and was being reattached by two crewmen.

Geordi looked at Harry very thoughtfully. "How long can you do things like that? You know lift and lighten?"

"And r-repair," Barclay added.

Harry shrugged. "Until I get tired. Since I can only recharge in my room, it might not be as long as normal, otherwise I'd say for at least most of a day. What do you need?"

The chief engineer grinned and slapped Harry on the back. "You my friend are about to become every engineer's dream and we'll all be buying you drinks for a long time to come."

"Don't forget that electronic things can't be powered up," Harry reminded him.

"Not a problem, Harry. A lot of this ship doesn't have power right now anyway.

"Let's see," La Forge started talking to himself for a moment. "Warp core and fusion generators are offline, but they're not about to explode either, so that's good. We have air, always good."

"The captain said intra-ship communications are down," Harry prompted.

"You read my mind. I think the turbolifts are after that. Can you take me up to deck 15 also?"

"I don't know. What is my energy going to do to your … err …" Harry lamely motioned towards the man's face.

"Damn, my VISOR. I don't know and this isn't the time to find out because my spare is in my quarters. Ellis!"

An woman with short graying hair walked over. "You called, Chief?"

"Turn off your tricorder and go with Mr Potter. Intra-ship communications are down and I want you to bring them back up." Geordi grinned. "I'm sure the captain would like to talk with us down here."

"Aye sir." Ellis looked at Harry. "If Barclay survived, I guess I will too. Can you take me to Ten Forward? It's near where we need to go." She turned her tricorder off.

"It might be a bit weird, but it won't hurt," Harry assured her before he popped them away.

— — —

Seven hours later, Geordi was leading Harry into his room with an arm over his shoulder and practically carrying the young man. He laid Harry on his bed and turned on the Anaphasic generators, careful to keep his head away from them. "Sleep well, Harry. If you're lucky, I'll have a present for you later." Harry never heard him, already asleep.

Leaving, Geordi took one of the few working turbolifts to the bridge, where he found several people with their heads under consoles or in access panels trying to repair things.

"Mr La Forge," the captain greeted him tiredly, "you're the man of the hour and your team has been outstanding. While I wished we had more than half impulse, I'm told I should be happy to have that."

Geordi shook his head and leaned against the nearby wall to conserve energy. "I wished I could take credit, Captain, but the real man of the hour is Harry Potter. He and his _magic_ have repaired more broken parts by himself faster than my entire team could have replaced over the last seven hours. As far as I'm concerned, if he wants something that I have, I'll give it to him. His tab in Ten-Forward is covered too. Most of us would also be dead if he hadn't taken Barclay to secondary EC and helped him fix it, especially with primary destroyed until we have a major overhaul."

"I had heard he'd been helping you, but I didn't realize it was that much," Picard said, sounding impressed. "Mr Potter is also the reason we're still alive and not all Borg. He single-handedly destroy the Borg ship, although like I've told the crew who was here and witnessed it, please don't repeat that, but as senior staff you should know."

"How the hell did he do that?!" La Forge asked in a hoarse whisper, taken aback by the thought of that much power in one person.

"He directed a large beam of what I suspect was his Anaphasic energy at their transwarp coil," Picard answered quietly. "Something the Borg never considered possible. I doubt this ship communicated that back, so it's possible that method may work again. I wished we could generate Anaphasic energy like that; it would be quite a weapon." He scowled slightly as he voiced that thought.

Geordi blinked for a moment. "Now I understand why he always asks if something is powered off before he works on it."

"Indeed. Where is he now?"

"He's worn himself out, literally," Geordi told him. "I just put him to bed to recharge. I'd like to follow his example, but there's too much to be done and I don't have his excuse."

"Do what you can, but don't get anyone hurt now that we'll live for a while longer," the captain advised. "What's the status of the warp core?"

"I'd like to say that it'll be back up soon, but I can't," the engineer said wearily. "The crystals are fine, but there were a lot of cracks in the intermix chamber and other subsystems because the ship twisted slightly in the accidents, wreaking havoc all over the ship. We're having to go over the entire warp system very slowly and carefully. It might take as long a week, and then we'd be lucky to get warp 1.5 out of it. Then there's the main deflector, which we haven't checked yet. If that doesn't work, we're never going to go faster than we are now. The minimal forward shields that we have presently couldn't handle it."

Picard nodded. "Warp 1.5 would mean three weeks to the nearest starbase, but we'd make it there … assuming we can get out of this area soon enough."

La Forge looked at him in puzzlement for a few seconds then he groaned softly. "Right. If someone comes to investigate the wormhole or another Borg ship comes, we'll easily be found on long range sensors. And since ours are down, we'll never see them coming. I really need to get long-range communications back up too so we could at least call for help, but the transmitter was sheared off; it's floating back there somewhere. We might be at the starbase before I can build another from whatever spare parts we can find that weren't damaged."

The captain nodded. "I don't think Starfleet ever considered a starship being this wounded and still surviving, but I'm happy to be alive to tell them that more planning is needed, or I hope I get the chance."

"I hear you captain. If you don't mind, I need to go find something to eat before I continue."

"By all means, Mr La Forge. If it helps, consider Mr Potter on your team until you hear from me otherwise. I think his normal education is going to suffer for a while, although I predict he will receive a lot of hands on engineering education," Picard told him.

"Definitely," La Forge said before he walked away.

* * *

(A/N: I'm sure some people will think the Borg ship was defeated too easily. But as I recall from the shows, they could be affected/defeated fairly easily if you could overwhelm them on the first or second try. Their major strength is their adaptability. If you give them time to adapt, you're probably screwed. Harry hit them with something they'd never seen before and didn't give them time to adapt. Taking out the Borg Queen at the very beginning was extremely helpful and lucky. :)


	5. Allies and Secrets

(A/N: I had several reviewers ask something like "How can there be more than 1 Borg Queen?" referring to the episode at the end of session 3 (& beginning of session 4) as well as the movie "First Contact" versus what I wrote. My answer (not official ST lore if there even is an official answer) is that there is only 1 Borg Queen **at a time**. So if 1 dies, another is created because the Borg Hive needs a Queen to give direction. So when the one Harry killed doesn't report back in the expected time, they will assume she's dead and create a new queen, which would probably be the one found in "First Contact". Yes, the one Harry killed would have been the one that tormented Picard less than a year earlier, so our good captain wasn't all that bothered by her death.)

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Allies and Secrets**

[virtual May 7]

As Harry blinked awake, the sight he saw made him feel a little guilty as he lay in bed. The chief medical doctor and the chief engineer were there and they both looked very tired.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Beverly Crusher asked.

"Better. How long was I out?"

"Almost eight hours," La Forge told him.

"Eight? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sleep that long," he said guiltily.

"Harry!" the doctor said sharply to cut him off. "You slept eight hours because your body needed it, although more would be better. You're power levels are lower than I'd like, but you can get up as long as you don't work as hard as yesterday. I'd make you stay in bed longer, but the captain said we need everyone working who can work."

He chuckled a little, and at her look he explained. "You sound a lot like my old school's nurse. I guess it's a doctor thing."

Her expression softened. "We care about our patients; it's a large part of why we're doctors." She glanced at her companion for a moment before continuing. "The main reason I'm letting you help more is because Geordi has a present for you."

The man held out a little box that Harry recognized as closed tricorder; it also had a belt attached to the case. The engineer smiled. "No, it's not a tricorder, but the case was a good size and it hides its real function. If you'll wear it while you're out working, you'll feel better longer. It's a prototype of a portable mini-Anaphasic generator. It won't give you as much as these bigger versions will, but it's better than nothing. It'll be less than walking around on Earth, about 60 percent of that, but - as I said - it's better than nothing. I put a charger on your desk with an extra power pack that you can swap every night. I've even hardened it so it should be able to withstand small bursts of your magic, as long as you don't try to destroy it."

"Wow, that's brilliant!" Harry said as he took the gift and looked at it, finding the power button.

"It creates a very small field, so you shouldn't hurt anything, as long as you don't sit on the warp core," he said with a smile at the obvious joke, making Harry laugh.

"Thanks, Lieutenant."

"Call me Geordi. You've earned the right. In fact, the captain said you're on my team until we make it back to a starbase. I'm sorry that's going to cut into your school time, but we really need you," he said with an imploring look.

"School can wait a little while."

"Glad to hear it, " Geordi told him with a smile and looking a little more relaxed. "We'll make it up to you by teaching you some practical engineering. Take a shower, get something to eat, or whatever you need to do and come down to main Engineering. I'm making a list of tasks to be done before I head to bed for a good nap."

"And don't overly tire yourself, even with that device," the doctor told him. "When you start feeling tired, take a break back here on your bed under your energy lamps, even if it's just sitting here and reading."

"Yes, Doctor."

"If anyone asks what it is, you can tell them it's a device I gave you to monitor your health," she said as she put her things away, "although I don't expect anyone to ask you."

— — —

Harry was helping Lieutenant Ellis on communications again. This time, they were scavenging parts from the badly damaged shuttle crafts. Someone had finally had the idea to check to see if the little crafts were flight worthy and if so, then use one of them to either go get help or else call for help. Unfortunately, the shuttle bay had been damaged, as had the crafts in it. So they took any working parts from there that they needed.

Ellis hoped to build a transmitter that worked to a few million kilometers, or even more if they were lucky. That was really only good if a ship came to them, but even that could be useful. The starbase, with no useful planets between here and there, was trillions of kilometers away - over ten parsecs he was told - a distance they could have covered in a reasonable amount of time if the ship was working normally.

"There are a few really helpful parts here," Ellis told him. "The trick will be to make them work with the rest of our systems. Ready to take me back to the bridge? We'll go to deck three from there so we can leave the few working turbolifts free for others."

"Sure." Harry grabbed her arm and Apparated them to a spot on the front of the bridge that people didn't normally work in. Their appearance caused everyone to look up at the crack of their arrival, but they went right back to work as they had become used to his popping in and out.

"Hey, I'm glad you're better," Harry told Wesley, who had returned to his normal position. Data was off helping an engineering team so someone else had his place at the helm.

"Thanks. I'm told you checked on me when I was injured, so thanks for that too. I've got one more, but we'll talk about that one later," Wesley said with a flick of his eyes towards Ellis, who was talking with the captain a few feet away.

"I just did what I had to do," Harry said, looking down a little.

"I'm glad you were here, Harry." Wesley looked over. "I think Ellis wants to get going."

"Sure, later." Harry followed Ellis down a couple of decks and to the back side of the saucer.

She took him to a special room where she worked the controls in the corridor. "Glad this still works. It brings the instruments inside so we don't have to get into a suit and go out to work on them. Can't do all the equipment this way, but it works for the small stuff."

Once it was safe, they went inside and started working on the comm gear and the short-range sensors, with Harry repairing as much as he could with magic. Some things still didn't work, which he assumed meant that some of the parts had been lost, probably broken off and then floated away.

When they were done, Ellis raised the sensors back in place and they returned to the bridge.

Harry watched Wesley work with the new sensors, the ensign explaining what he was doing and Harry trying to understand but not catching it all.

Finally, Wesley hit one last button and grinned at the result. "Captain, we have short-range sensors back at 80 percent efficiency."

"Excellent news, Mr Crusher. What do they show?"

It was ten long seconds before Wesley responded and he started speaking quickly. "We're far enough from our battle area that I can't see the debris any more, but it looks like there is a large ship heading towards us."

"Communications coming online," Ellis said.

Crusher's tone changed to one of puzzlement. "They appear to only be approaching us at full impulse, not at warp speeds."

A voice suddenly came out of the speakers as a switch was pushed.

"...Klingon Empire. Do you require assistance?" It paused for three seconds before it said, "Enterprise. This is the Q'vat of the Klingon Empire. Do you require assistance?"

Picard looked relieved. "If you can hail them, please do."

"Channels open, Captain; audio only," Worf told him.

"Q'vat, this is Captain Picard of the Enterprise."

The automated message stopped. "This is Captain K'tar of the Q'vat. We saw the remnants of a wormhole on our long range sensors and came to investigate. Your ship appears damaged. Do you require assistance?"

"We appreciate your offer of help, Q'vat. Could you send a subspace message for us to Starbase 454? Our subspace communications are down and we need some help to return in a timely manner." Picard wasn't sure how much he wanted to share with the Klingons, even if they were allies, but he doubted he was telling them anything they couldn't already determine with their sensors.

"Do you need any medical assistance, Enterprise?"

"Thank you, Captain, but that is not necessary. Our medical staff has that under control," Picard told him.

"Very well. We shall be beside you in about two minutes. Hopefully we will have an answer by then too, although that depends on how long it takes them to reply."

"Of course. I look forward to our next conversation. Picard out." He looked at Worf, who stopped the communication. "Have you heard of Captain K'tar?"

"Yes," Worf replied and stood a little straighter. "He is said to be a great warrior and honorable. There is speculation he will be promoted to the admiralty, perhaps even in the near future."

"Thank you, Worf. You should make arrangements for a visit. They'll beam directly to the bridge."

"I appreciate the notice, Captain." Worf leaned back down to his console to take care of that task.

"Senior staff who are available to the bridge," Picard said to his communicator.

"This is kind of fun to watch," Harry whispered to Wesley, who merely nodded as he worked his console, where Harry mostly hid behind from most on the bridge. Ellis was still on the bridge and working by herself at the engineering station. He was sort of forgotten for the moment and that was fine with him.

The main viewscreen shifted and a dot larger than the stars in the background was growing fast. When it arrived, they could all tell the ship was large.

"One of the new Vor'cha class ships," Worf said gravely.

"I can't get a figure on its mass," Wesley said, filling in Data's role while he was not at his station, "but it's about 50 percent larger than the Enterprise by volume."

A few more minutes later, they were hailed again. Picard made the invitation for them to beam over as the rest of the senior staff arrived, minus Crusher and La Forge who were getting some much needed sleep. Several extra security people were also on the bridge.

Harry saw two Klingons beam over in their swirls of light. Captain Picard introduced his senior officers. Worf was given particularly interested looks.

The captain introduced himself. "I am K'tar, captain of the Q'vat. This is my first officer, K'tranog." The captain was a powerfully built Klingon, much like Worf was, and gave off an aura of controlled power with his even, deep, and calm voice.

The first officer was thinner, but looked intense and strong in his own way. Harry thought the first officer also looked a little shifty, but he was probably reading the Klingon incorrectly as he'd started to discover the different species had their own body language.

Captain Q'vat looked around the bridge for a moment and raised a bushy eyebrow for a moment in Harry's direction before returning his gaze to Picard. "You're bridge looks remarkably good, considering how damaged the outside of your ship looks, especially the port side and stern."

"The bridge was lucky, Picard replied, "many other parts of our ship didn't fare so well. Can I assume you received an answer from Starbase 454?"

Q'vat chuckled, or Harry thought that was what the deep sound was. "I did. Our delay was because they didn't believe us. The report of the wormhole and the images of your ship made no difference."

"I see," Picard said with a frown. "Could your ship act as a relay so that I could converse with them?"

"Of course," K'tar said graciously. "I anticipated that and my communications officer is standing by."

It took over five minutes of frustrating conversation, or so Harry thought Captain Picard looked frustrated, before they believed that the Enterprise was where it said it was and that it was truly damaged. Mentioning the Borg helped considerably. However, even once convinced, the starbase was unable to offer any help as there were no large ships in at the moment to help the Enterprise and they didn't expect any in for at least two weeks. The officer in charge apologized but pointed out they were a small starbase and at the edge of Federation space to an ally from whom no trouble was expected.

When the communication with the starbase was broken, Q'vat spoke for the first time since the call had been established. "If there are no issues and since the Klingon Empire is an ally, I would volunteer the Q'vat to tow the Enterprise to the starbase. We could lead and act as the deflector and I would think achieve warp 3. That should allow us to arrive in less than a week. I'm sure our superiors can work out any remunerations required, if any, depending on existing favors. We could act as protection too, should these Borg return."

Despite the calm and gentile delivery, Picard looked a little weary, which Harry could understand. The offer was something a Slytherin would have been proud of. It wasn't hard to interpret Picard's expression by the end.

"I appreciate your offer, Captain K'tar," Picard said with a slightly strained smile. "I would request that we avoid going to warp speed until eight hours from now. My chief engineer is getting some much needed rest and I'd like him available when we try that."

"Of course," K'tar agreed. "Is there any reason to not go faster but limit ourselves to full Impulse?"

"I would like to leave the area," Picard said with a hint of enthusiasm. "You can contact Mr Worf, who will set up a communications channel to our Engineering department."

"Then we shall do that. Perhaps a suggestion?" K'tar asked.

"I'm open to ideas," Picard answered, although he didn't fully sound like it.

"Much like your ship, my Q'vat is not all navy personnel. It is our experiment to allow families of warriors to travel as well." K'tar smiled at the surprise from the Enterprise staff, as it was unheard of for the Klingons. "This gives me extra personnel. Could I lend you engineering staff for repairs? I'm sure yours must be very tired. Also, much like our fleets have an officer exchange program in place, I have a few people who would might like to come over and help for the next week, even if it is nothing more than moving debris and acting as helpers, in order to experience working here with Starfleet. Two that I think would be most interested are their age."

Harry was shocked as the Klingon captain held out his hand towards he and Wesley.

Captain Picard looked about as shocked. "I appreciate your offer; however, I should talk to my chief engineer first. I wouldn't want to disrupt any of his plans."

"Of course, Captain, I fully understand," K'tar said easily, as if he would have said the same thing. "If there is nothing else at the moment, we shall return to our ship and start the process to slowly increase your speed to as much as we can while staying out of warp." When Picard thanked him again, the two Klingons left.

Riker looked at his superior. "This is not a comfortable position."

"No it's not, Number One. I suspect the favors that will be called in for this will be rather large." Picard looked at his chief of security. "Opinions, Mr Worf?"

"I would agree with you, Captain. The Empire will undoubtedly use this to their advantage; however, he left you little choice."

"That he did. Your opinion on allowing them to help with repairs, assuming we do not let them into sensitive areas?" Picard asked.

Worf looked troubled as he considered it. "Your concerns with this are also correct. Perhaps a small work party in non-critical areas with appropriate escort."

Picard nodded. "I was thinking something similar." He suddenly turned and brought his gaze upon the youngest on the bridge. "I'd forgotten you were here, Mr Potter."

Harry gulped and did his best to hold an even expression, much like he used to have to do with McGonagall.

"I see little problem with allowing two Klingon teens to come over for cleanup duty, assuming you'd like to meet and work with them. You would of course have to be their escorts at all times. Mr Potter? Mr Crusher?" The captain didn't look like he cared either way and that it really was up to them.

Wesley looked like he couldn't decide, so Harry said, "Sure, I think that'd be great." Wesley agreed too, although he didn't look overly excited.

Picard nodded. "We'll set that up." Turn to his first officer, he said, "Work with Engineering to start the towing; I have a few other things to take care of. Once that's going well, turn the control over to Mr Data and join me in my quarters." He returned his gaze to Harry. "Mr Potter, I would like you to join me in my quarters in an hour. The three of us can have dinner while we discuss a few things and before we all get some needed rest."

Harry nodded with a little dread, hoping the captain had forgotten about them having a talk. He worked another hour with Ellis before he went to find the captain. While he wasn't looking forward to this talk, he did wonder what a teenage Klingon was like and if he would meet some tomorrow.

— — —

Harry pressed the buzzer and the door to the captain's quarters opened. Inside he found a large cabin, no surprise there, and the two top officers setting food on a table.

"Come in, Mr Potter," the captain beckoned in a natural voice, not sounding upset at all.

Harry noticed that the food was nothing special, much like what he normally ate in the mess hall. It wasn't hard to guess that the reason they were here was for the privacy. He also mused that the captain never called him by his first name, while his old Headmaster only called him by that. The contrast between the two was very startling the more he thought about it, but there was no doubt both were leaders. He wasn't sure yet, but he almost thought he might prefer Picard's style better.

"Please have a seat." The captain gestured to an empty chair. "Help yourself to whatever you'd like to eat. We'll talk while we eat to save a little time. There are a few things I thought we should discuss and I thought you might have a few questions for me."

"I can only think of one, sir."

Riker chuckled as he took his chair and reached for a bowl of vegetables. "I would have imagined the number to be closer to a few hundred."

"I have a lot of questions, Commander, but only one for the captain," Harry protested, knowing the man's time was valuable.

"Very well, Mr Potter, you may go first," the captain said as he started to eat, as did Riker.

"What will happen to me? Will I stay here? Have to go to Earth like you mentioned? Or what? All of my other questions are fairly easy compared to that one," Harry told him.

Picard gave him a wan smile. "I'm afraid that's not an easy question, or not as easy as I had thought when you first came aboard."

"Oh, why?"

"Would you like the short easy answer or the longer detailed answer?" Picard asked him.

"I would prefer to know all I can," Harry replied. "I've rarely had choice in my life, even though I've been considered an adult on my world for almost a year, and I'd like to know what choices I'll have now."

Picard took a drink and a moment to consider the answer. "While I have done my best to keep quiet the fact that you single-handedly destroyed the Borg ship, that and your rather unique abilities are going to come out eventually and draw the attention of a number of people.

"In the Federation, I believe it will always be your choice as to what you want to do with your life; however, that will not stop a number of organizations and people from trying to contact you and get you to come be a part of their group, with an emphasis on studying your unique abilities at the least and perhaps even attempts to take advantage of you.

"I can shield you for some time here on this ship, but eventually you will have to move on and life will turn more difficult for you. You could elect to stay connected with Starfleet for a time and that could help you, but they may require a commitment for a length of time in exchange. That may not be bad, but you should be aware that their protection will have a price. There are a number of planets you could go to live on also, but I can't say what the difficulty of that will be either. I'd like to hope it would be minimal, but there are no guarantees.

"The worst scenario, there even might be a few who attempt to exploit you, or even force you to work for them as a weapon."

Picard looked a little sad. "I'm truly sorry, Mr Potter, but you will have some difficult choices to make in the coming weeks and beyond. I will be happy to advise you and put in recommendations where needed, but the final choice will be yours to make."

Harry considered that for a moment as well as the two men in front of him. Each wore a look that spoke of regret and sympathy; he truly appreciated their honesty and concern for him - something he'd received very little of in his life so far. He knew most of the adults at Hogwarts had probably cared for him as a person, some more than others; but he didn't believe it was like these two. Right or wrong, he thought these two actually saw him as a person and wanted to help him have a good life. He wondered briefly if that was because he met them as an adult and not as an eleven year-old child with a pre-existing story. Of course, saving their ship had probably created some respect.

"I appreciate your answer, Captain. I shall consider what to do. Part of me would like nothing more than to simply disappear and live a simple life somewhere," he admitted, sharing his ultimate desire. "Being studied doesn't sound very appealing."

"Starfleet's interest in you might not last very long because you're the only one of your kind," Picard told him, "but I obviously can't guarantee that. It's also possible their interest will be higher because you're the only one. That one is difficult to predict."

"I believe Starfleet might give you one of the better offers," Riker told him, "but I'd agree that being studied like a 'lab rat' doesn't sound like something I'd want to do."

"And yet," Harry thought out loud, "for a very short period of time to get something important to me that might be a trade I'd make." He shrugged. "But this isn't something I have to decide now. Still, thank you for your honesty, Captain. I'll try to answer your questions just as well."

Picard smiled. "I'll try to restrain myself or we'll be here all night."

The other two chuckled, which lightened the mood.

"What can you tell me about yourself, Mr Potter?"

Harry took a drink and made himself comfortable in his chair. "In my old world, there has been a long history of people who have the power of … magic. I assume that's what the Doctor meant by Anaphasic energy. My apologies for misleading you before, but it really was a term I'd never heard of before I came here, so I was being truthful, technically. I didn't say anything else because I didn't know what it was like here and I didn't know if I could trust everyone."

The captain nodded in understanding.

"In addition, our magical society was hidden and separate from the rest of the world. One of our most important laws was," Harry held up his hands to make air quotes, "_The Statute of Secrecy_. While it was broken by some people, we weren't supposed to reveal ourselves to the non-magical world."

"Interesting," Picard said. "That sounds very similar to our _Prime Directive_. As we visit other worlds, especially the more primitive ones, we are not supposed to show our advanced technology or interfere in their culture. In short, we're not to play God."

"I can see the similarities," Harry said with a nod. "So as you can see, I'm used to hiding my use of magic."

"Magic, like hocus pocus pull a rabbit out of a hat?" Riker asked with amusement.

"I'm not familiar with that term, but…" Harry pulled his wand out and pointed it his empty plate. A silent spell transfigured it into a black wizard's hat which he picked up and handed to Riker.

Each officer looked at it. "I'm impressed," Riker told him.

Harry snorted. "You shouldn't be. That was something that I should have been able to do at the end of my first year at…" he grinned and changed his voice as if he was announcing something important, "Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, the premiere school for magic in Britain." He chuckled at his own antics and the others joined him briefly.

"Magic is very real there, as are many of the mythical creatures, or I should say the creatures normal people think are mythical," Harry explained. "I went to school there for six years, each where I usually had to fight for my life in some way. I missed my seventh year completely because of the war and I had to hide while we tried to end it. If you really want to know, I'll tell you about the school some time, but it was where everyone in the country learned magic unless you were only taught at home. Other countries had their own schools."

"You've mentioned the war a few times," Picard said. "Why were you a part of it at such a young age?"

"It depends on who you ask, and since I'm the only one you can ask, I'll tell you that my answer depends on what mood I'm in. Fortunately, I'm not angry at the moment, so you'll get a more thoughtful answer." He saw Picard and Riker exchange a look of worry which amused him.

"There is no one answer…"

"There is rarely one answer for a war," Riker interjected.

Harry nodded, "True," before he sighed and picked the hat back up and played with the brim. "I think the main reason it started was because one man wanted to rule the world and some of the older families helped it along because it allowed them to do what they wanted without regard to others; therefore, they supported him. Or if you prefer, they did it for power and control to be blunt.

"Some people tried to ignore it because they just didn't care to fight and thought they wouldn't be affected; and they were right until it was too late and they or their families were put in camps and starved or killed. Some ran away to another country. Some tried to fight directly and got themselves killed. Some tried to fight in secret and keep a normal life as much as possible. My friends and I fought back secretly at first and then more directly so the madman wouldn't take over country and eventually the world.

"A few heard a prophecy that said I was the one with the ability to kill the evil wizard trying to take over the world. The evil one along his followers tried to kill me for that. Another, my Headmaster along with his followers, tried to protect me and at times used me as bait to try to kill the evil wizard, or so I think. I've come to realize that while my Headmaster was trying to help me, he also didn't always tell me what was going on or why, so I did have to guess as to his plans and motives.

"You saw the end of it. The body that came with me was that evil wizard and I saw of lot of his followers killed before I left. I also saw some of his followers getting away, but I guess that's not my problem now." Harry shook his head. "I'm most happy that it's over and I can put it behind me. I suppose my biggest question about it all is if changing dimensions means that when I die, will I still get to see my parents who died to protect me when I was baby and my godfather who died to protect me two years ago … or is there a different heaven here?"

He put the hat down and looked at the others. Riker looked like he was trying to comprehend it all along with a hint of compassion, while Picard looked determined, but Harry was not sure what he was determined about.

"Do you want to put just the war behind you or all of your magical life?" Picard asked.

Harry smirked in amusement and nodded. "That's a really good question. With the help of magic, I could forget all of my magical life, but it's also possible I'd wipe my mind and turn into a blathering idiot. No, don't think I want do that. The war, I'd like to forget the war and just be Harry if I could find a way to do that. Magic is bloody useful at times."

"I've seen a few things, but exactly what can you do with magic," Riker asked. "Are there limits?"

Laughter escaped Harry, he couldn't help it. "Sorry," he said, "but yes, there are some very real limits. I'm probably more limited as well because I didn't really finished school and I don't have a good library of magical books handy to learn from. Then again," he smiled, "much of the more advanced magic is more about belief that you can do it and visualization of the end result than really knowing a spell, or so I've heard. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but I'll get to find out as I get older as I can't advance my magical education here, at least not in the way I was originally taught."

Harry reverted the hat back into a plate and put his wand away. "I can do a lot of things with magic, Commander, many things that are useful in everyday life, some of which I've been doing here. I've made things lighter, smaller, lifted them, repaired them, cleaned them, stuck things to a wall temporarily, summoned something to me, banished it back across the room, moved from place to place … lots of things."

"And on the Borg ship?" Picard asked quietly.

Harry sighed and looked the captain in the eyes. "I did what I had to do, Captain. I knew I wasn't in _my_ war any more, but I'm starting to like it here. I know I didn't understand everything Commander Riker told me, but I understood that the situation was so bad, you were willing to destroy the ship and everyone in it before you let them win. That's desperate and I understand desperate _**far**_ too well. If you thought that was best, why not to try to save you. Even if I failed, that wouldn't have changed the end result for me or anyone else, would it?"

"No," the captain said quietly and looking as if remembering something unpleasant.

"So I went to the their ship. I knew how to do that because I could see it on the screen, just like I saw something that looked a lot like the warp core Wesley showed me in engineering."

"It was their main transwarp coil," Picard told him.

"Sure," Harry agreed but not really caring about the difference. "When I arrived, I suppose it was a woman that started to come over. I told Mrs Winters that I didn't think I had xena, xena…"

"Xenophobia?" Riker helpfully supplied.

"Yeah, that; but when I saw that bald sort of a woman and how she looked at me with all the stuff on her, I freaked out. The 'guy-thing' with the stuff all over him beside her didn't help. So when she came toward me, I used the strongest Cutting Curse I knew. It was interesting in an theoretical sort of way, the guy-thing sort of froze when I killed her, not totally, but mostly - really weird.

"If there was one thing I did learn in my war, it's that if you're given an opportunity, you take it immediately. So I used that moment to send my strongest Blasting Hex at the warp core, err, coil, before I got the bloody hell out of there. It was reasonably well known at school that electronics and magic don't mix. If anyone brought an electronic watch or something like that to school, it just died. I used that to my advantage while hoping it was enough."

Harry ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry for all the people that got hurt; I'm sorry your ship was damaged when I did that Captain; and I'm sorry for all the other problems this is going to cause. But what choice did I really have?"

"You made the right one," Riker told him with conviction.

"There is no doubt, Mr Potter. You had a good instinct and as the commander said, you made the right choice," Picard told him very intently. "You saved this ship and all but a few of us on her, several times from what I can tell. Without your actions, we'd all be dead or worse - a Borg. You have our appreciation and a lot more."

Riker chuckled. "I understand that you can ask for whatever you like in Ten-Forward and Engineering will pay for it. That's how grateful they are for what you've done. I would join in on that offer and I think a lot of others would too if they knew the truth."

"Thanks, but I'd prefer they didn't know," Harry told them.

"For a while they won't, but as I said earlier, eventually it will come out because I'll have to report what happened to us. I'll do my best to minimize your involvement, but destroying a Borg ship, even if the Enterprise had done it, is a big deal in Starfleet," the captain told him.

Picard gave him a genuine smile. "There is one more thing." The captain stood and walked over to a shelf and returned, setting a small box in front his first officer. "I believe you wanted the honors?"

"Thank you, Captain." Riker opened the box. "Mr La Forge said he made this to withstand your magic, even more so than he did your portable generator."

Harry was surprised as Riker leaned over and pinned a communicator on his shirt, showing him how to put it on and take it off. Harry felt his eyes watering.

"I ask that you not abuse that to call the crew for trivial things, but I believe you've also earned it," the captain told him. "We've also assigned Mr Crusher as your mentor, so you have extra leeway to call him if you have problems or need anything unusual. He knows you may call him if you need help. In fact, I ask that you call him if you have any difficulties, especially in learning to deal with your new universe or in living here on the Enterprise."

"Thank you, Captain," Harry said earnestly and thickly, his emotions threatening to burst out. "I promise I'll be careful with it."

"As I said, you've earned it," Picard said as he held out his hand to shake Harry's, as did Riker. "I also thank you for answering my questions, Mr Potter. I'll let you go get some sleep. I'm sure tomorrow will hold more surprises for all of us."

"Captain, why did you say yes to letting the two Klingons that are my age come over?" Harry blurted suddenly, really wanting to know.

Picard chuckled. "Consider that my gift for what you did. You seemed to want it and I didn't see any harm."

"Thanks, because I did want to meet them and see their ship," Harry said excitedly.

"A tour of their ship will be harder to come by. Good-night, Mr Potter."

"Good-night, Captain, Commander. Thanks again!" Harry now knew he preferred the Captain's more honest and open leadership style.

When the door shut, the two men looked at each other. "I think I feel more comfortable about his being here now," Riker said. "Not completely, but certainly more comfortable," he added hastily.

"As do I, Number One, but I still wonder what someone of his abilities will mean to us. I also wonder what will happen with him because he will have some hard decisions in the future. I also dread what will happen when the _mythical_," he said the word with a hint of distaste, "Section 31 hears about him and I don't know how to keep that from happening because I can't hide the damage to the ship nor how we really survived. I have a bad feeling about what could happen if those two clash."

Riker's expression darkened; he'd heard the rumors of that less than ethical organization too.

* * *

(A/N: While I don't change stories very often from suggestions, I do at times and have done so here. "David Brown" suggested bringing out the similarities between the Statute of Secrecy and the Prime Directive. I thought that was insightful and added it. Thanks David.

For those that mentioned in a review that Harry should have a portable energy generator, take a silver star. However, that was written long ago.)


	6. Follow the Leader

(A/N: A number of you pointed out in reviews, and I want to make it clear to everyone: yes, the Statue of Secrecy and the Prime Director have very different motivations for existing, yet they end up with similar results. All 3 in the conversation realized that. Picard was most interested because of his interest in archeology and the closely related anthropology.)

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Follow the Leader**

[virtual May 8]

Harry hastily dressed for the day. He had the usual gray trousers and jacket. The white shirt that went with it seemed overly dull today. Deciding for something different, he used a coloring charm to change the shirt a nice red like Wesley's uniform was. Looking in the mirror, he thought the gray and red looked good together. His wand went under the sleeve of his light jacket.

After a quick breakfast, he was standing in the only transporter room that worked. The chief engineer and four of his people were already there, in addition to a man behind the control console.

La Forge gave him a look and smiled. "Good morning, Harry. I like the outfit."

"Thanks. Good morning to you too." Harry did his best to hide his excitement.

Wesley joined them and La Forge looked intently at the two of them. "I don't expect any trouble, but you two are responsible for your two visitors. Other than going to the bathroom, they're not to be left alone. Since you each have a communicator, call for help if you need to."

Wesley looked at Harry in surprise and then a smile. "They finally gave you one, cool."

Harry looked down at his communicator. "Yeah, it is." He looked up at his supervisor. "Thanks for making this, Geordi."

"It was my pleasure. You've earned it, Harry." Geordi slapped him lightly on the shoulder in a comradery manner.

"Incoming," the transporter chief behind them announced. Seven people and big crate arrived on the platform.

"I'm Geordi La Forge, the chief engineer."

"Kheldas, leader of this squad of engineers."

Harry sort of listened to the conversation, but he was looking at the other three. In the back was a Klingon woman who was standing next to a large box that was maybe one and half meters high and a half meter in each of the other two directions. She was just standing there patiently and waiting, as if she had all the time in the world and she was used to waiting.

The last two held most of his attention. There was a Klingon young man, dressed much like the four engineers. Tall boots to a little below his knees, sturdy looking pants and top, all made of something he couldn't identify. The trouble was it looked like both cloth and leather. Harry finally decided it was a special kind of cloth that also had a few little squares of what looked like metal on it for decoration. A wide belt completed the look. His dark hair was loose and reached his shoulders. Harry guessed he was a little older like Wesley, maybe nineteen, but he was probably wrong.

The other "teen" was definitely a girl. While her outfit looked much like the boy's, in that it was made of the same material and had tall boots and a wide belt. Her top had a more feminine style with the front of her uniform having a "V" cut that hinted strongly of cleavage below. It wasn't revealing in any way, but it did point out that she was a girl. Her complexion was the lightest of the seven, a light brown, making her look more like Parvati in coloring. It was also interesting that the ridges and bumps on her forehead were the smallest of all of them. Her hair was past her shoulders and loose, unlike the woman's who had hers pulled back. Harry wasn't sure if the girl was pretty or not, but she was interesting to look at. He guessed she was a little younger than the boy, or about his age.

Both teens looked around, the girl slightly more than the boy.

Eight engineers left and Geordi looked at the three remaining Klingons.

The woman took charge and stepped forward. "I am K'hidri, chief medical officer of the Q'vat. I bring medical supplies to replenish what you've used. You may use them or not."

"Thank you," Geordi told her. "I'll lead you to sickbay in a moment to talk with our chief medical officer."

She nodded and looked at the other two. "These are K'ral and Akhil. They are considering a career in the Klingon Defense Force and wish to see space in a different way."

"I think we can help that," Geordi said with a pleasant smile. "This is Ensign Wesley Crusher and Harry Potter. You can work with them. They will show you where to eat when you get hungry and also guide you back here at the end of the day as we don't have enough extra rooms for you stay here at the moment. You are welcome to come back every day for as long as your captain allows.

"To make things easier, I'd like to assign partners now. Ensign Crusher, who will you partner with?"

Before Wesley could answer, K'ral pointed at the ensign and said, "I choose him for my partner."

La Forge looked amused at the byplay. "Harry, do you mind being Akhil's partner?"

"No, that's fine," he replied.

"Very well. Harry, I'm putting you in charge of this work party since you normally report to me and I know I can depend on Ensign Crusher to help you."

Harry saw Wesley smirk at him being in charge. K'ral seemed to glower a little while Akhil looked amused.

"There's a bag of supplies," Geordi pointed to a backpack next to the wall. "I want you to look over the port side of deck 20. Try to find out what works and what doesn't. There are also some air leaks there, or so I believe. Do your best to find and repair them. Be very careful as the area is probably not completely safe; that's why the area is off limits to everyone else at the moment."

"We will, Lieutenant," Harry assured him and picked up the bag of supplies and led _his_ team out, as amusing as that was to him since he'd been here less than a week. He suspected Geordi, and maybe the Captain, had put him in charge so Wesley could watch the Klingons.

He thought it was strange how each side said the other was an ally, but acted like they still didn't fully trust the other. He suddenly realized the Federation and the Klingons acted like Gryffindors and Slytherins … that amused him for a moment.

"At least we can use the turbolifts now," Harry said as he looked in the bag, finding various sealants and a few tools. "If you'd come yesterday, we'd have had to climb the ladders to go to the other decks." He was mostly talking to Akhil who had moved to walk beside him, but he was sure Wesley and K'ral would be able to hear him too. "Wesley, since you have a tricorder out, you can take notes on what works and what doesn't. That can go to Geordi for our report."

"Sure, Harry," Wesley agreed easily.

While Harry had learned the basics of using a tricorder since the accident with the Borg, he wasn't very fast or good with one yet.

The turbolift gave them a quick ride to the port side of deck 20. A set of bulkhead doors didn't open until Wesley entered a code at the keypad there. Walking through, the doors closed and relocked behind them.

"Why are you in charge if you're not in Starfleet?" K'ral asked as they walked slowly down the corridor.

"As Geordi said, I report to him and this is an engineering task," Harry answered him as they came to the first door which opened and revealed a disheveled room.

"This doesn't look so bad other than the mess," Akhil said as she looked around, the four teens moving apart and checking the entire room out. Wesley was scanning with his tricorder.

"No, it doesn't, but there are a lot of other rooms," Harry pointed out.

"I think this one's fine," Wesley said as he lowered his tricorder and headed for the door. "You do know there's a better explanation for you being in charge."

"Maybe just because Geordi has a sense of humor?" Harry joked as they all headed to the next room. "You know more about the ship than I do."

"Leadership is about more than knowledge," Wesley told him.

"I don't understand," K'ral said, sounding like he was determined to figure out what was going on.

"Leaders can be made, but real leaders are born," Akhil said as they entered another room, this one looking like a lab - a very disorganized and wrecked lab. The ship coming to a sudden stop without the inertial dampeners was bad for a place like this.

"Captain Picard once said something like that to me as well," Wesley agreed. "Harry has the ability to see what needs to be done and do it."

"Wesley," Harry said with some warning in his voice as he also blushed just a little.

"It's true, Harry, even I've noticed it when we hang out together. You naturally take charge and make it look easy," Wesley told him.

"Uh, what's this?" Ahkil asked, drawing the others over to look at the blue-green fuzz that appeared to be very slowly spreading across the table top out of a culture dish that had no top.

Wesley scanned it with his tricorder. "I don't _think_ it's hazardous, but a specialist would know for sure. We should report it." He looked pointedly at Harry.

"Oh, right; I can do that now," he said with a grin. "This was lab 3, right?" Wesley nodded and Harry tapped his communicator, still grinning. "Potter to security."

"Security, Lieutenant Worf here."

"Lieutenant, we're in lab 3 on deck 20. We've found something growing that might be hazardous. I think it would be a good idea to find whoever normally runs this lab to come here and look. The corridor to the lab is safe and we don't see any other hazards in the lab."

"Lab 3 on deck 20, acknowledged. Worf out."

"That was fun," Harry said to no one in particular.

"Harry just got his communicator last night," Wesley said in a teasing manner.

K'ral looked like he couldn't care less while Ahkil smiled in what looked like amusement.

Harry led them out and they continued their survey of the area.

— — —

As they neared time for lunch, Harry stopped them. "Shush, listen." The talk among the teens had slowed down after the first few rooms, but each of them commented on things they found from time to time.

"What?" K'ral asked after a moment, looking like he was ready to stop work and leave for lunch.

Harry walked forward a little more and turned his head from side to side. After a moment he looked up. "It's up there."

"What?" This time it was Wesley. He had his tricorder out and scanning but didn't find anything useful.

"There's a faint hissing. I think we found one of the air leaks." Harry looked at the ceiling, or the half of it that was left. The parts that had fallen was also what allowed him to hear the hiss. "I need to get up there."

"One of us would have to go back to engineering to get an anti-grav step to lift us," Wesley pointed out unenthusiastically.

Harry understood. That would leave things unbalance in numbers and he also suspected Geordi would prefer none of the Klingons be taken to main engineering. He hadn't said that, but Harry thought it true. "I have an idea," he said as he looked at the wall and into the small space above the ceiling.

"Who's the strongest? K'ral?" Harry looked at the Klingon who seemed to puff up slightly.

"The average Klingon is stronger than most humans," he said a little arrogantly.

Harry didn't care and if that arrogance let them accomplish the task, then so much the better. "All right, then you're the last and can lean against the wall facing out. When we're ready, you need to hold your arms all the way up and then hands together.

"Ahkil, you're next. I'd suggest facing the wall and putting your arms forward and beside K'ral to lean against the wall and steady yourself.

"Wesley, first in line. I'd suggest you face out like K'ral and cup your hands together at waist level."

"I get it," Wesley said in admiration as he put his tricorder away. "We're steps like a ladder for you to get above."

"Right," Harry agreed. "I step to your hands, then Akhil's shoulders, then to K'ral's hands. From there, I should be able to reach that beam up there and pull myself up."

"Wait!" K'ral called, obviously not liking the idea. "Why you?"

"Because he's the lightest one here," Akhil said with a hint of exasperation at K'ral question.

K'ral grimaced menacingly and he growled, as he'd done a few other times this morning at Akhil's comments.

"No fighting!" Harry commanded like he used to do when Ron and Hermione really went at each other. Both Klingons turned to him, each with a slightly surprised look, but they also shut up.

"This is a workable plan, but if anyone else has a workable plan, tell me now." Harry looked at the other three, giving them each the same stern look, knowing Wesley would understand. No one said anything. "Since there are no other plans, we'll use mine. Everyone take your place."

Harry made sure the backpack was firmly in place over both of his shoulders as the others each took their position. Akhil said something to K'ral in Klingon, who only narrowed his eyes at her, but otherwise didn't react. Harry let it go and hoped for the best. "I'll try to go as fast as I can. Ready?"

K'ral put his arms up straight and put his hands together to form a step. Akhil and Wesley braced themselves. "I'm going on three. One, two, three." He placed his foot into Wesley's cupped hands and lunged up, causing Wesley to grunt. The next step was to Akhil's shoulders. She shifted slightly but didn't make a sound. With the slightest of pauses, he stepped up to K'ral's hands. Harry was glad K'ral worked with him and didn't let him fall, as he'd wondered. A beam was within reach above him so Harry grabbed it and pulled himself up to sit on the corridor wall.

"The hiss is a lot louder up here," Harry called back. Remembering the torch, or flashlight as they called it, he pulled it out of the backpack and turned it on. "I found it," he called back down a moment later. Grabbing some sealant tape out of his pack, Harry maneuvered himself over until he as in front of the large crack in the conduit. Looking down, he saw no one; so he pulled out his wand and cast a silent repairing spell on the conduit, causing it to seal. To make it look good, he put a small piece of the sealant on the conduit anyway so they'd hear the tape sounds below.

When he was done, he moved back to the hole in the ceiling. "Step back and I'll jump." A moment later he was back down with them. "Wesley, can you mark the place I repaired the leak?"

"Sure, I'll do it now. I'm hungry; how about lunch?"

Harry looked at the other two and they to agreed with Wesley's suggestion, K'ral a little more enthusiastically. "Right then. Let's get out of here and get some food."

As they headed back, they passed a couple of people working in lab 3: one scientist in blue and one security officer in gold. The scientist stopped them. "You're the team who called this in?"

"Yeah," Harry told the man. "Was there a problem with it?"

"The experiment had gone bad and was spreading, but it wasn't hazardous," he told them.

"Good to know, but better safe than sorry," Harry replied.

"Caution with unknown things is always good," the man agreed.

Harry nodded and led his team to the main mess hall where they each grabbed a tray of food. Interestingly to him, the food replicators understood Klingon. The Klingon food didn't look bad, but it was definitely different looking.

They sat together and talked. Harry asked them what life was like on the Klingon ship. K'ral answered most of the questions and made it sound like he thought it was perfect. He painted a picture much like life on the Enterprise, other than K'ral was an important part of the Q'vat's crew. Harry noticed that Akhil didn't say a word against his stories, but she didn't look like she believed them all either.

As they were finishing lunch and the conversation faded for a moment, Akhil looked at Harry and asked, "Why are those girls to your left looking at us so much?"

Harry took a drink and then slowly looked around, trying not to be obvious about staring. He found the table of girls she mentioned and could only guess as to what was going through their minds. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be back in a moment."

He walked over a couple of tables and sat at the only empty chair. "Hi, how is it going?" he asked to the table at large, although his gaze lingered on Lauren the longest.

"What are you doing with the Klingons?" Camillia asked, always the boldest.

"They came over to help us, like another group of Klingon engineers have. Wesley and I are their guides," he explained.

"And guards," Fran added as if Harry had left out the most important part.

He shrugged. "We do have to escort them everywhere, but it's a chance to meet new people while helping out around the ship. How's class been going?" said Harry, purposefully changing the topic.

"We just started back today and mostly to keep us busy, I think," Lauren answered. "I wondered where you were."

"Working," he answered easily. "I think they've recruited about everyone they thought could help. We're not doing much more than checking out parts of the ship to find out how bad the damage is and make very simple repairs."

"Wished we could," Camillia complained, "it's been boring." Fran agreed with a nod.

"Are you going to be free later?" Lauren asked, looking very interested in his answer.

"Probably not, sorry," Harry apologized and meant it. "They've been keeping me really busy, even if it is simple stuff." He looked back to his table and saw all three of his team watching him, embarrassing him a little. "Hey, I probably need to go, but we can talk later, all right?"

Lauren nodded, "OK. You can send me a message when you're free."

Harry nodded as he stood and started to go until Camillia suddenly cried, "Wait!"

She jumped up and hurried the few steps to him, surprising him greatly with a tight hug. "I heard you saved my father, thank you." Camillia looked like she was about to kiss him, but she suddenly stopped and stepped back.

Harry felt his face heating a little. "Uh, you're welcome. All I really did was find him and call a couple of guys over to take him to sickbay."

"But that was important," she told him. "He was hurt pretty badly."

"Glad I could help then," he said, trying to end the conversation before something else unexpected and more embarrassing happened. "Later," he told them all and beat a hasty retreat, only to see Wesley and Akhil smirking at him, while K'ral had an expression of admiration.

His three co-workers stood when he arrived. They dumped their trays in the recycler and went back down to deck 20. They had several interior corridors of rooms to check. They really didn't expect to find any major problem there, as those rooms were more protected than the room next to the outside hull.

When it was just the four of them in the corridor, K'ral looked at Harry. "An Orion girl; I'm impressed."

Harry smiled at the memory of her hugging him. It had felt pretty nice. "They're all friends from my classes. She was thanking me for getting help for her father because I found him when he was injured."

"Still," K'ral said with an encouraging nod and smile.

"She's not the one he has to worry about," Akhil said with her own smile.

"I've only spent a few hours with Lauren, we're only friends," Harry replied, instantly knowing what she was talking about based on the looks Lauren had been giving him. He looked to Wesley to save him; however, his friend was smirking at him, enjoying his predicament from the teasing.

As the turbolift doors opened, Harry practically ran in he was walking so fast. Fortunately, the verbal teasing stopped at that point.

For the rest of the afternoon, the other boys may have let the subject drop, but Akhil would smirk at him when the other two weren't looking. He had no idea why she seemed to enjoy teasing him this way, but he was thankful she wasn't saying anything else. He also noticed that she was occasionally giving him very thoughtful looks.

While they finished deck 20 by working a little longer than planned, they did finish and the two Klingons left for their own ship for dinner. That was fine with Harry and Wesley, each of whom were hungry and ready for some time to themselves, so they ate dinner together mostly in companionable silence. The only words exchanged were to clarify their work as Wesley finished the report about their day.

Wesley sent his report to Geordi before going to his room, while Harry went to Engineering. He found the chief engineer in his office, looking tired as he worked at his computer terminal.

"Harry, how did it go today? I just saw Wesley's report. Thanks for fixing that air leak. Every little bit helps." The chief engineer did look grateful.

"Sure," Harry told him as he took a seat. "I think it went pretty well. Akhil and K'ral were interesting. Like us in many ways, but obviously different too. I think we got along well by the end of the day."

"A little rough at first?" Geordi asked, though he sounded like he expected that to be the answer.

"Some, but not too bad." Harry smiled. "Akhil, the girl, did better and she helped K'ral with a few explanations in Klingon."

"Or maybe me she kept him in line," Geordi said a little jokingly. "The other group had a similar experience. Harry, if you don't mind, I'm going to send your group to deck 22 tomorrow to do more of the same. It's a little more beat up, so you'll have to be more careful. Do you think the four of you are up to that?"

"Yeah, I think so," Harry replied. "We might not make it through the entire port side like we did for deck 20 today if it's too much harder, but we'll do our best."

"I really appreciate it," Geordi told him and it was obvious he really meant it too. "Listen, I know that surveying the state of the ship isn't exciting, but it's really helpful and will save us a lot of time later because I can tell them what parts we need before we get there. This may seem like I've just made this task up to keep you busy, but it's work that has to get done and by using your team for this, I can send a more experienced team elsewhere."

"I'm glad to help," Harry told him and he was. He felt like he was really fitting in here and engineering was interesting.

"Say, Harry, do you have a little more energy left? We have a few parts that I was hoping you could repair with your magic." Geordi looked to be almost pleading.

"Sure," Harry said as he stood. He repaired nearly thirty more parts before heading to bed, not staying up for anything else. He was tired now and a long night's sleep sounded really good.

— — —

On the Q'vat, Captain K'tar strolled through one of the smaller corridors in the lower part of the ship. He softly knocked once before using his override as captain to open the door swiftly and stepping in to avoid being seen. He smiled in amusement at the gasp from the occupant, who grabbed a shirt and put it on hurriedly. "Do you have it?" he asked quietly.

With a nod the teen grabbed the wide belt from the uniform lying on the bed and pushed a hidden trigger. A small device that looked like part of the decoration came off.

K'tar plucked the recording device from the outstretched hand and replaced it with a new one. "If there is good information on here, you may yet redeem your family honor. As before, if you're caught, I will deny all knowledge of your actions. If you succeed, new doors will be opened for you."

"I'll try harder to get more information tomorrow."

"See that you do," the captain said.

The teen nodded and hoped for the best as the captain quietly slipped back out.

* * *

(A/N: Sorry for the shorter than average chapter, but I really need to stop here. The next chapter is longer than average. :)


	7. Another Fine Mess

(A/N: Thanks for all the fun reviews. It's interesting to see people's guesses on the spy. Maybe this chapter will help clear that up … or maybe not. For the curious, the chapter title is a tribute to the comedians Laurel & Hardy - just because it fits so nicely. :)

* * *

**Chapter 7 - Another Fine Mess**

[virtual May 9]

With a little help from some coloring charms, Harry decided on a dark blue and gray uniform today. Putting a charged power pack into his portable generator and strapping that on, he went to eat a hurried breakfast before reporting for duty.

Like yesterday, he met his group in the transporter room; Geordi wasn't here today, and it was only six Klingons who arrived. The four engineers from the Q'vat joined four engineers from the Enterprise to work on a larger project. Harry heard something about the main deflector dish.

K'ral was dressed like he was yesterday, while Akhil was in something like a dress that came to her knees with extra tall boots so no leg was really showing from the front as she stood there. The top half looked about the same: reasonably modest with her wide belt.

Akhil gave him a look and a smile. "What do we do today?"

Wesley, who'd arrived just before the Klingons, looked interested in that question.

"Geordi told me that it's more of the same, but on deck 22." Harry noticed the others drooped a little in disappointment, which he couldn't blame them. "He also said that we'll need to be more careful as that deck had more damage."

"Can't be all that bad if they're sending us there," Wesley said as he led the way, K'ral going with him.

Akhil strode next to Harry as they went to their destination. "Nice colors," she told him, "especially the dark blue."

Harry grinned bashfully as he studied her face for brief moment. "Thanks. If you don't mind, why did you change your uniform? It looks really nice, but I'd think it'd be harder to work in."

She smiled at him as she gave him a more intense look as if trying to figure him out. "I wear the other style so often I get tired of it, so I thought I'd do something different. It's actually not all that hard to work in. As you can see, it only goes to my knees and has a high slit so I can move around easily."

Harry couldn't help but look down to see the skirt after that comment. He hadn't realize how tall her boots were before; they went above her knees not just to the bottom of the skirt. He could see that now because she was walking and the slit in her skirt opened almost to her hip. He had to admit she had nice looking thighs, though he didn't think that would be polite to say.

"Right," he gulped, then had to look straight ahead after he noticed the impish way she was looking at him.

Getting into the turbolift, Wesley just had to say, adding to his embarrassment, "What's wrong, Harry? You're red in the face."

"Nothing," Harry said a little too quickly, not prepared to admit anything. A quick glance showed that Akhil looked a little too pleased with herself, while the other two males shrugged the moment off, for which he was thankful.

Deck 22 was a lot more damaged then deck 20 from yesterday had been, evidenced by all the debris scattered around. Many times the team had to pick their path very carefully. Wesley was kept very busy recording the damage. There were also a number of patches to the outside wall placed by the first team through the area that only checked on general hull integrity the first day after the attack. The number of times objects had obviously pierced the hull surprised all of them.

They were less than half way around the outside corridor when it was time for lunch. They headed back to the main mess hall to eat and take a restroom break. Harry waited for Akhil while Wesley and K'ral went to the food replicators. By the time Harry and Akhil had their food, they noticed that the other half of the team was at a small table that only held the two. Harry searched the crowded room and found another small table for he and his partner.

As they took their seats, Akhil looked up at him and smiled. "I like how this turned out. I find K'ral to be a bore and now I can really talk to you. Tell me about yourself, Harry."

Harry finished with his first bites as he considered her comment and her question. "Not much to say really. I was on a bit of a backward planet," or that was the easiest way to explain his history he thought, "and only recently joined the Enterprise. It was a bit of an accident that I came here. I was transported to the wrong ship and the Enterprise left before the mix up was straightened out; but it's turned out all right."

"That's amazing," she told him. "So how old are you? You've finished school I assume?"

Harry chuckled. "No, I mentioned the backward planet. I've learned some basics, but I didn't learn as much as I should have; the school wasn't that good. So I'm having to make up a few things. My teachers say I'm picking it up quickly, but I just wished I was done," he told her with an easy grin.

"I know what you mean," she replied. "I've been living with my guardian and had to come along because she was accepted to be part of the crew of the Q'tar. I'm glad she brought me because I've been learning so much, but it also shows me how much I don't know. I've got another year of school." She paused, "I'm seventeen, how old are you?"

"I'm seventeen too, but I turn eighteen in about ten weeks," he told her. He was still sort of on a virtual calendar in his head.

"I have almost six month before I'm eighteen. My guardian says I shouldn't rush it, but I'm ready to move on, to go somewhere," she told him a little wistfully.

Harry nodded. "I can understand. This is really different than what I did before and I like it. I go to school and help Geordi in Engineering when they need extra help. It'll be a little sad to leave this behind when it's over."

"I'm surprised they're letting you do so much if you aren't part of Starfleet. How did that happen?"

He considered how to answer that as he finished up his lunch. "It just sort of happened, I guess," he finally decided to say. "I mostly went to my classes before, then they needed help and found out that I'm good at finding problems and sometimes fixing the simple ones, so they're letting me help where I can which lets the better trained engineers work on more complex things." He shrugged and teased her, "I just do what I'm told."

She smiled for a moment. "I understand how that works. I don't have many privileges because of my age and the fact that I have no parents, just my guardian, so I mostly have to do what I'm told too."

"I lost my parents when I was one," he told her softly, "something we have in common."

Akhil smiled back gently. "I never really knew my parents and I'm told life wasn't very kind to my mother, or to me until my guardian took me in. It hasn't been easy, but she's given me something like a family, sort of."

"I grew up with my aunt, but I'd rather have lived anywhere else; it wasn't pleasant," he admitted quietly.

"I'm sorry," she said with a sympathetic look, "that we have an unhappy childhood in common too."

"There's always the future," he told her.

"Yes," she agreed. "Harry, there's something…"

"Are you ready to go?" Wesley asked as he and K'ral walked up looking at their empty plates.

"Sure, we've both finished eating." Harry rose, missing Akhil's disappointed look.

As they walked to the recycler with their trays, Akhil said as quickly and quietly as she could, "Can we have dinner together tonight? I want to talk to you about something."

"Sure," he answered, thinking she wanted to avoid K'ral a little more, which he could sort of understand. K'ral wasn't bad, he just wasn't all that friendly.

Back on deck 22, they continued their survey, finding little to repair but much to list in need of replacement.

"It seems like this area took a lot of damage," Harry said to the group as they came to another patch on the outside wall.

"When ships explode, they fling a lot of shrapnel as the ship is broken apart. Space is pretty empty, but if you're near an exploding ship, you're probably going to get hit," Wesley told him and K'ral nodded.

"I've seen a few recordings of explosions," K'ral said. "I'm surprised so much went through your shields." The last part definitely sounded derogatory.

"We were very close to the explosion and our shields were already damaged," Wesley said a little defensively.

"I heard someone say," Harry said hurriedly, "that any accident in space you survive isn't so bad. Wesley, how do they patch the hull like this before it can be fully repaired?"

"There are special patches that be slapped on quickly to stop the air leaks until someone can come back to really repair it," he answered.

"But some of these are really big, I wouldn't think the air would stay in," Harry looked at his friend pointedly, surprised he hadn't received more of an answer, since Wesley liked to give in-depth answers.

"This part of the deck probably did depressurize, which is why so many things are all over the place as air escaped quickly. There are emergency force fields on the outside over windows that will come on to prevent a leak. There was that one door back there that we couldn't open and it was probably locked because there's an opening to space in the room. For places like that," Wesley pointed with his thumb over his shoulder at the patch they'd just walked passed, "where the hull is breeched, the computer will automatically block off the corridor at the nearest bulkheads on each end. You don't want to be on the wrong side of the bulkheads because the computer will seal you out trying to save the rest of the ship."

Harry gulped. "Thanks, that explains a few things I've seen."

"If the computer won't let you into a room, there is a good reason," Wesley said sagely.

The door to the next room to check wouldn't open. "Look, extra sealant," Wesley said, pointing to the edges of the door. All around the door was a round bead of putty looking material. "The triage team placed that to seal the door. There's an opening to space in that room for sure. I'll mark the room as needing to be completely replaced."

The next room was a longer than normal room. "What was this used for?" Harry asked.

"According to the records, it was conference room for the botany team, although anyone could have used it if it was free," Wesley answered after looking up the information. He and K'ral turned right to look at that side of the room, which was shorter.

Harry and Akhil turned left to the longer side of the room and threaded their way through the debris, including some cables hanging from the ceiling that was mostly missing because it was on the floor. There were a lot of small objects over on their side of the room near the windows.

"Why do those two windows look funny?" Harry asked and moved closer to the nearest one.

Akhil was a little further away but turned to see what he had found. "Stop!" she cried out as he reached out to touch it, his hand only a few centimeters away.

Nothing more was said as a loud beeping caused them all to freeze. "Warning, emergency containment system failing…"

"Run!" Wesley shouted and raced for the door, K'ral on his heels.

Harry and Akhil turned to run also, but they had further to go and more chairs and other debris to go over or around.

"...this room will be sealed," the computer continued to warn them.

Harry saw the door starting to close. There was no way he would make it, nor would Akhil who was a step behind him. Wesley and K'ral were almost to the doors, but even they would be a little too late. They couldn't stop and turn to go out the doors fast enough because they were running next to the corridor wall.

"Warning…" The message started to repeat.

As Wesley reached the area in front of the door intent on bouncing off the door frame or maybe the door itself, Harry shoved his hand out and literally wished upon his magic with a Banishing charm, hoping it worked as hit had in practice. The young man went flying perpendicular to the way he had been running and flew through the doorway. A heartbeat later, the same thing happened to K'ral, who had to twist sideways to be thinner and still hit his foot on the closing door as he flew through.

Akhil jumped a chair and almost caught up with Harry, but it wouldn't be enough as the doors came together and cut off their escape.

"… will be sealed." the two heard just as an electronic pop sounded behind them and the air started to rush out of the room, pulling everything in that direction that wasn't secured - including them.

"Grab that cable," Harry shouted as he threw one arm around Akhil's back, pulling her toward him and giving her a boast to lunge for the cable with one hand.

She gave a guttural scream as both of them were yanked off their feet and pulled toward the open windows with only one of her arms supporting all of their weight as their feet came off the floor. Harry would have grabbed the cable too, but he was holding onto her while also trying to focus all of his magic to do a spell wandlessly that he'd never performed that way before. "_Contineo!_" he cried in extreme fear with adrenalin flowing, wishing mightily.

To his relief and her surprise, a mostly translucent bubble sprang up around both of them, covering not only his head as the spell had been designed, but covering both of their heads and down to their feet.

Despite her surprise, Akhil told him in a strained voice, "My hand is outside."

"Pull it in," he told her with effort, concentrating on expanding the bubble a little more and then keeping it where he wanted it instead of letting it go around only his head.

"Can't, and I'm about to have to let go," she told him sounding very strained.

Harry saw the cable within reach and grabbed it, pushing his hand outside of the bubble to grasp it and understood the problem. It felt like his hand was being poked by a lot of little needles and it was slowly becoming more painful. He pulled the cable inside the bubble and grabbed it with both hands that were against her back and said, "Let go, I've got us."

She let go and her arm felt limply to her side but inside the bubble; she also grunted as if in pain. "Better," she panted and continued the large gulps of air for a few seconds as she clung to him as tightly as he was holding her.

Harry also noticed that they were hardly being pulled toward the window any more and that their feet were back on the deck, but he didn't let go of the cable. He also became aware that his calves felt a little funny and realized he'd let his concentration lapse on the charm and it was shrinking. Closing his eyes, he thought very carefully about expanding the bubble again. A moment later, it was back to where he wanted it. That proved he really would have to actively think about the spell, something a normal Bubblehead charm didn't require.

His communicator beeped, "Wesley to Potter!" Wesley's voice came through in a panic.

Since they weren't being pulled out the window any more, the air in the room was now gone he realized, although he still didn't really want to let go of the cable totally because if felt like a lifeline. However, he could let go with one hand and did so. He reached between his and Akhil's body and pressed the communicator on his chest. It wasn't until he'd done that and answered, "Harry here," in a strained whisper that he realized the back of his hand had pressed on Akhil's breast because their bodies were pressed together. He was glad he couldn't see her look and she couldn't see his blush because their heads were beside each other. Her lack of protest led him to believe she understood that had been accidental and necessary.

"Harry, did you seal the window? Can we force the door open?"

"No. No air in the room; we're in a bubble."

"Can you, you know, get back to your room?"

Harry mentally berated himself up as he worked to maintain the overly large Bubblehead charm. He should have just Apparated the two of them back to his room despite the explaining that would have required, but that lapse of intelligence was costing him now. "No, I have to maintain the bubble."

He would have had to drop the bubble before he could Apparate now, and he seriously doubted he could do that because the vacuum of space would cause enough pain from the stinging that he wouldn't be able to concentrate properly. His present mental state was such that a fast Apparation would probably result in Splinching for both of them and there was no other wizard to put them back together.

"Hold on!" Wesley encouraged him. "We'll get you help!"

"Hurry," was all Harry could really say. He knew he could hold the bubble for short time, but he had no idea how long he could literally stretch the spell. He was already starting to feel some fatigue. A soft pop from his waist told him his portal generator just died, meaning he was completely on his own for magical energy.

"I don't know how you're doing this," Akhil whispered into his ear, "but can you cover my head better? Please?" she begged him with fear in her voice. "I want to live to be more than seventeen."

Harry reached up, holding onto the cable with just his right hand still afraid to let go for no logical reason he could name, and placed his left hand over the right side of her head, pressing her head against his. He hoped that his magic would force the bubble out a little there because it was his hand.

His hand found her ear in all of her hair and he noticed that it was shaped differently from his. "Your ear is slightly pointed."

"My secret," she whispered and then begged, "but I'll tell you my secret and you can touch my ear and any other part of me you want if you can get us out of here alive."

He had to go perfectly still and concentrate on only the spell for a moment before he said, "That's not helping my concentration." Her cheek moved and he wondered if she was smiling at that. Girls, he thought with exasperation.

"I'll put it this way, if you can get us out of here, or hold this bubble however you're doing it until we're rescued, I promise I'll make it very worth it to you."

"Definitely not help helping," he growled, trying to think of only the bubble around both of them rather than the pleasant female body pressed against his.

—

Wesley managed to control his panic as he cut the communication with his friend, but it was difficult. He tapped his communicator and barked, "Transporter room, emergency." The soft hiss of escaping air under the door finally caught his attention and gave him a new reason to panic. He started walking towards the nearest bulkhead and waved at the Klingon boy to follow him.

"Transporter room, Chief O'Brien."

"Chief, a window in room 22029 just blew out and there are two people trapped in there. Can you beam them out."

It seemed like forever before the slow, "Checking," was said. "Negative. There's a weird energy source there and I can't get a lock."

Wesley almost cursed and would have if he'd been alone. "That energy is protecting them. Could you beam someone there, like Data?"

"Yes, the room is big enough for that," O'Brien answered briskly.

"Stand by to do that," Wesley ordered and tapped his communicator again. "Crusher to Data, emergency." He turned to K'ral and ordered, "Run with me." He hurried to the bulkhead with K'ral limping along and mostly keeping up.

"Data here. What is the nature of your emergency, Ensign?"

"Two people are trapped in room 22029, one is Harry Potter and he's maintaining the environment in a bubble around them to keep them alive, but that means the transporter can't get a lock on them. We need you to beam to the room and push them back into the corridor. We're running for the bulkhead so we can depressurize that section to be an airlock."

"I understand your plan. I'll transport as soon as possible. Data out."

"How can Potter keep the environment in a bubble?" K'ral asked.

"I don't understand it either, but I'm glad he can." Wesley started the section depressurizing as the bulkhead slammed into place on his command.

K'ral leaned against the wall on only one foot to keep the pressure off of his ankle that he thought was broken despite his heavy boots. Still, a broken ankle could be fixed - death couldn't. Just like he couldn't understand how Potter maintained a bubble around he and Akhil, K'ral didn't understand how he'd made it out of the room. He shouldn't have, but he had made it out and he'd swear he'd been shoved even though no one could have done that. There were so many impossibilities happening.

—

"I understand your plan. I'll transport as soon as possible. Data out." The android swiveled in his chair on the bridge, back for a brief shift as his replacement was getting some much needed sleep while the mechanical man didn't need any and hadn't been off duty since the Borg attack. "Captain…"

"Ensign Walten," barked the Captain to Worf's replacement, "hail the Q'tar, tell them we need to drop out of warp immediately for an intra-ship rescue." Picard could guess the rest of the plan as well and understood that transporting during warp was possible, but something not done if it could be avoided and they had a little time. "How long until that section is depressurized so you can go?"

Data looked at his console. "Ensign Crusher started four seconds ago and it will take another thirty-seven seconds to complete," the android answered. The main viewscreen changed and they knew they were back to sub-light speed.

Data tapped his communicator and started speaking twice as fast as normal. "Computer, I am going to be transported to room 22029. That room and the section that room is in will be depressurized. When I arrive in 22029, open the door to the corridor and turn off the gravity to that section of the deck 22. When I next tap my communicator after that, you will close the door to 22029 and repressurize that section of deck 22 as fast as possible. Acknowledge."

"Commands understood and acknowledged," the computer responded.

"Mr Data, why are you turning off gravity in that section?" the captain asked.

"So I can move them more quickly and without harm to myself from the magic that Mr Potter must be using to maintain the bubble of environment around them," the android answered logically and swiftly. "I do not know what it will do to my Positronic brain and I do not believe this is the time to find out."

Picard nodded instantly. "Agreed."

"Ensign Crusher," Data called and didn't wait for a response. "Tell Mr Potter that the gravity is about to go off and I will push them into the corridor, but he is to maintain his bubble until the gravity comes back on."

"I understand," Wesley told him and broke the connection.

"Data to Chief O'Brien." The android stood. "Lock onto me and beam me to room 22029 next to a wall in six … five … four … three … two … one … energize." He disappeared from the bridge in a swirl of light.

—

Harry was struggling to maintain the bubble. It was like when he exercised and his muscles burned, telling him to stop. However, in this case, he knew he couldn't stop and he started to shake at the strain. It had been maybe two or at most three minutes total, but he was doing this wandlessly and having to fight the spell to maintain a shape the magic didn't want.

"Harry?" Akhil asked with worry as she felt his body react to the strain.

"It's getting harder to hold," he whispered hoarsely.

"Please hold on," she begged him. "I swear I'll nurse you back to health and make it worth it for you."

"Crusher to Potter. Harry, Data will be there very soon. You'll know because the artificial gravity will shut off. He'll push you into the corridor which we're depressurizing to be like an airlock. When he pushes you in, you can't stop what you're doing. You have to wait until the gravity comes back on. The gravity coming back on will be the signal that you're safe. Do you understand?"

"Gravity on is safe," he whispered back as another shudder wracked his body.

The words barely out of his mouth, the two teens felt the gravity go off and a light flared for a brief moment. The door he was looking at also started to open.

Akhil saw Data, the android she'd heard about, look around and less than one second later pull his feet up and kick off the wall he was standing next to. He flew across the room towards the outside wall spinning in a slow half somersault with a half twist as he went, hitting feet first on the wall just below the windows. Knees bent to absorb the landing, he pushed off again even faster this time, he came right at them with his arms outstretched; his left aimed at them and his right reaching for the cable they were holding onto.

Harry felt a huge push in his back and he let go of the cable. They went through the doorway he had been looking at and the wall seemed to be rushing at them. Putting his arms out and letting Akhil hold them together, he took most of the impact, but he still heard Akhil hiss in pain as her back hit the wall and they bounced off, twisting a little.

He almost lost control over the bubble charm. It definitely shrunk, to his knees, he thought. He didn't bother trying to expand it again; he felt lucky he hadn't lost it altogether. As they hung on to each other tightly and slowly twisted around like a top, also moving up towards the ceiling, Harry saw Data push off the doorway to come their direction.

Harry put one arm up to prevent their heads from hitting the ceiling, when he heard Data as if from a great distance even though he was not that far away say, "Computer, turn the gravity back on for this section of deck 22."

He would have tried to break their fall, but they were still twirling and he wasn't sure which way they would be facing when it happened. As the gravity reasserted itself over them, they fell and landed on their side, the one that she had injured. She gave her guttural scream again as well as started to pant again. Harry let the bubble go and concentrated on staying conscious.

As Harry took stock of himself, he found it difficult to breath, although it was getting a little easier with each breath. Suddenly a wind came down the corridor and breathing became almost normal.

"Are you all right?" Data asked as he leaned over them, his right hand doing something to his left wrist.

Harry just blinked as his vision started to narrow, slowly losing the battle to stay conscious while Akhil growled something in Klingon.

"I was only trying to ascertain your condition," Data replied, not sounding bothered by her reply, even though her tone sounded very angry.

Running footsteps prevented the conversation from going further downhill. "I believe they are injured, although not fatally. Miss Akhil seems to be worse," Data told the new arrivals.

Harry forced his eyes back open to see Doctor Crusher and the Klingon woman he'd met yesterday, Doctor somebody. Now that he had medical help, he stopped the fight and passed out.

—

Doctor K'hidri waved her medical tricorder over Akhil as she still clung to the human boy and after a few seconds breathed a sigh of relief because it was as the android had said. They would both live without too much difficulty despite their ordeal, as inexplicable as that was to her based on what she knew.

She had been surprised when Captain K'tar had called her personally and told her to grab her medical things and be beamed from where she was directly to the Enterprise for a medical emergency. A security person there had taken her straight to deck 22 where she met Doctor Crusher just as the bulkhead door was opening to an only partially pressurized section. Crusher had given her a scantily brief overview of the emergency that left her with many questions.

"You need to roll over," K'hidri told Akhil who was still on her side and clinging to the human boy.

"I can't," she said through gritted teeth, obviously in pain. "He's on my arm and my shoulder is killing me."

"Oh? Good then." K'hidri grabbed Akhil's other shoulder and forced her to her back, causing the girl to scream again, before she suddenly shut up.

"What did you just do?" the girl asked with great intensity, but in a normal voice for the first time since being rescued.

"You had a dislocated shoulder," the Klingon doctor told her patient, "and I put it back into place. I need to give you a few stimulants to speed up the healing, but you'll be fine in a day or two. You're only other real injuries are the broken capillaries in your right hand and wrist as well as a few on your right ear. I'll fix that in a few minutes in sickbay."

Akhil looked at the doctor for a moment before finally saying, "Thank you." She looked at Crusher. "How's Harry?"

"Other than a few broken capillaries in one hand and on his lower legs, plus being almost completely exhausted, he's fine. I think nine to twelve hours rest in his room and he'll be reasonably well. A good meal after that would help a lot," Doctor Crusher said calmly and not looking the girl in the eye for more than a glance, but focusing on her tricorder. "I'll fix his skin in his room."

"I wish to stay with him," Akhil said suddenly. "I invoke the old traditions to care for him."

Doctor K'hidri's gaze snapped to the girl and Doctor Crusher looked between the two. "What is she talking about?" Crusher finally asked into the silence. Not even Data had an answer.

K'hidri didn't seem to want to answer for a long moment. Another person finally said, "Why would you want to put your life aside to take care of him?"

Everyone looked at K'ral and Wesley who had come from the other direction. It had been K'ral who'd answered the question. K'hidri pointed her tricorder at him.

"Because he saved me and I promised to take care of him. It's the least I can do," Akhil said, before she demanded, "Take me to his room too. I will see that he rests and is fed as needed."

"He doesn't really need a nurse to sleep," Crusher said, trying to talk the girl out of this while K'hidri looked down at the floor.

"My honor demands it," Akhil insisted, not backing down.

As Crusher developed a stormy look probably to tell the girl that she needed to return to her ship, K'hidri reached out and put a hand lightly on Crusher's forearm and looked at her. "Perhaps it would be best to let her until we reach the starbase in two days' time. I will send K'ral back and he can be treated in our sickbay and before I leave we can treat their skin damage in his room as I believe you had planned."

"But…" Crusher started to protest again.

"As she said, it is a matter of honor and a small thing that puts no one at risk. Ask Worf if you need to. I believe it will help them both _heal_," K'hidri said softly, appealing to the other doctor.

"I suppose it won't hurt for a little while," Doctor Crusher finally temporized, "but I will talk to Lt Worf about this."

K'hidri smiled ever so slightly at that declaration before she adjusted the dials on her hypospray. Rising, she pressed it to neck of K'ral and it hissed. "That will help with your pain; your ankle is broken."

Doctor Crusher ran her tricorder over her son.

"I'm fine, really," Wesley told her.

Beverly Crusher nodded when her tricorder confirmed that. "Ensign, I'm relieving you from the rest of your shift. Please go get some extra rest after you've escorted your guest to the transporter room."

"Yes, Doctor," he said dutifully, understanding she was acting as the ship's chief medical officer. He stepped around the two on the floor and led K'ral away slowly.

"Data, if you could pick up Mr Potter and help me get him to his room?"

"Of course, Doctor," the android said and scooped the young man up easily.

Akhil rose slowly and flexed her injured arm a little as they walked, satisfied with it for the moment.

With the rest of the party on the turbolift, Crusher tapped her communicator. "Computer, as Chief Medical Officer, I order you to seal this section of deck 22 and not allow anyone in it unless a member of the senior staff is present or unless the Chief Engineer has certified it safe for normal operations."

The computer beeped. "Order accepted. Deck 22 port side is now sealed."

The small group stopped by a replicator for some food for Akhil and she also requested a garment to sleep in.

In Harry's room, Akhil was sent to change in the bathroom while the doctors started to undressed Harry down to his boxers. Crusher would have put pajamas on him, but she hadn't found any in his closet drawers.

Taking his shirt off, Crusher found his wand on a strap around left forearm. She pulled the two things off of him and set them on the table by his bed, along with his communicator.

"What's that?" the Klingon doctor asked.

"A family heirloom, I'm told. He likes to keep it with him for some reason," Crusher prevaricated.

K'hidri looked at Crusher and asked quietly. "What is so special about him than he needs Anaphasic Energy? I couldn't help but notice it in him during my tricorder readings." She pointed at the two lamps. "I don't know what these are, but since they are special, I suspect they are part of this."

Crusher frowned and thought for a moment. "Please keep that to yourself as doctor's privileged information. It's something he doesn't want spread around."

"It's natural?" she asked in disbelief. "Is he a mutation and a step forward or a useless step sideways in evolution?" K'hidri asked.

"I can honestly say I don't know," Crusher said in a tone that indicated she would say no more. In fact, she pulled an instrument out of her bag and started working on Harry's hand first.

A moment later, Akhil came out of the bathroom in what looked like a very long tailed shirt with no sleeves. K'hidri directed her to the other room to sit on the couch to fix her ear before she started working on the girl's hand and forearm; her tall boots had protected her lower legs. Akhil ate the food she'd brought with her undamaged hand.

("What did you promise him?") the doctor asked quietly in Klingon, knowing Crusher would probably hear the conversation anyway but hoped the woman couldn't understand.

Akhil considered the question for a moment as she ate and looked through the open doorway to the bedroom at the two humans. The doctor was now working on his lower legs. ("I made him a promise I intend to keep.)

The doctor kept working and seemed to let the conversation drop, but finally said, ("Will it be done in two days?")

Looking completely serious, Akhil said, ("That's not for me to decide.")

K'hidri shook her head but said nothing more on the matter and the doctor finished her treatment.

Akhil left her mostly empty plate of food on the table by the couch and walked into the bedroom, where Doctor Crusher had just turned on the lamps over his bed. "What are those for?"

Crusher looked conflicted, but simply said, "It's for a medical condition that Mr Potter has. Don't worry, it won't hurt you due to your Klingon ancestry, not even long term."

"You didn't say what it is," the girl pointed out, causing the human doctor to smile.

"No I didn't. That will be up to Mr Potter to tell you if he wants to. I hope the couch will work for you. There's an extra blanket in the closet." Crusher pointed to Harry's communicator on the table by the bed. "Tap it and call for Medical if you think there is a problem with Harry. Otherwise, I'll be back at around 0600 for a medical check. I want Harry to get as much rest as he can; it would probably be good for you too."

"Thank you, Doctor," she said formally and stood there, looking at the two older women. The redhead still didn't looked pleased at the situation.

K'hidri finally snorted and shook her head. "Doctor Crusher, if you'll escort me back to the transporter room, I shall return to my ship where I suspect I shall have to make a report to my captain on the injuries of our two."

Crusher finally nodded and forced her normally pleasant smile back on. "Of course, if you'll follow me?"

Doctor K'hidri followed the Enterprise doctor, feeling like she didn't know much more about the situation than when she'd come. The only thing she was now sure of was that this Harry Potter was much more than initially met the eye.

—

Akhil finally smiled when the door closed behind the two doctors. She also went over and pushed the button to lock the door.

Back at the bed, she noted that Harry was in the center. Carefully, she moved him over a little to the left so she could sleep on her uninjured right side. Fortunately, he didn't wake. Turning off the room lights, she crawled into bed with him and snuggled, laying her head on his shoulder.

For a human, she thought he was kind of cute. More importantly, she knew him to be a real warrior and worthy after saving her life. She would repay him, although she still wanted her conversation with him, the one that had been interrupted at lunch.

— — —

After seeing her Klingon counterpart back to her own ship, Beverly Crusher tapped her communicator as she stormed through the corridor of the ship, a determined woman on a mission. "Computer, what is the location of Captain Picard and Lt Worf?"

The computer beeped and answered, "Captain Picard is in his ready room and Lt Worf is in his quarters."

Crusher tapped her communicator again. "Lt Worf, this is Doctor Crusher. Please meet me in the Captain's ready room. I have a problem with our visitors. Crusher out."

A few minutes later, Crusher strode down the ramp of the bridge and pressed the call button to the captain's office. The door slid open and she saw she had arrived before Worf. "Captain, I need a moment of your time."

Her overly controlled tone must have tipped him off that this was serious because he laid the datapad in his hand down immediately and said, "Please, come in."

She looked back and saw the turbolift door open and Worf walk out. He was in his normal uniform. In fact, she tried to remember the last time she had seen him out of uniform and exercise outfits were the only exceptions she could think of. Waving the man in, she took a seat on the couch and saw a look of concern on the captain's face.

Worf took a chair and looked concerned.

"I was going to call you for a report on Mr Potter and your son, but Data gave me the highlights. Lt Cdr La Forge has also promised me he'll look into what happened within the next few hours. It appears there is more to the incident?" he queried.

Beverly relayed what happened and then looked right at Worf. "What was the girl talking about when she said she'd take care of him because of the old traditions? Mr Potter doesn't need a nurse to sleep, but their doctor even stood up for her."

Worf looked troubled and didn't immediately answer.

"Mr Worf?" the captain called softly.

The Klingon rumbled a sigh for a short moment. "Some of the old Klingon traditions are still fully kept, matters of honor especially. Others have been mostly abandoned over the centuries; a few have been simplified, including those surrounding saving a life. For most, repayment after saving a life is simple; usually drinks or a little money, sometimes a favor.

"In the old tradition, she might owe him much. There are stories of old about those who were saved and went out to perform a great deed for their savior, such as slaying a troublesome beast or a troublesome foe."

Picard looked interested in the cultural history while Crusher was taken aback at the barbarity.

"That she desires to nurse him back to health sounds like more of a modern interpretation, but with the way she acted…" Worf shook his head. "I would guess she promised him something in return for saving her life."

"Is, is Mr Potter safe with her?" Crusher was actually a little afraid of the answer.

Worf bared his teeth and threw his head back and laughed hard. The doctor looked insulted but he made no apology. "You misunderstand, he is safer with her right now than with anyone else in the galaxy."

The Klingon's composed and confident look did not fully calm the human doctor's worry, no matter that she trusted him with her life. She was certain there was a cultural misunderstanding here and she hoped Harry Potter survived the culture clash, because it looked like it would be completely up to him to deal with the situation he now found himself in … or would be in when he awoke.

— — —

On the Q'vat, K'tar sat back in his chair and pondered the recording he had just watched - for a second time - along with the sensor readings. When the Enterprise had requested to drop out of warp for a rescue, it was obvious why. Some of the Q'vat's sensors had been on the other ship and had recorded the loss of pressure from a room on the port side. He had immediately ordered full sensors to evaluate that area; he also had their transporter room standby to help the rescue. A little more indebtedness wouldn't have hurt, or so he thought.

However, the readings on what was in the room didn't make sense. The pictures they had been able to capture hadn't helped much because it had been hard to make out what was in them. His conversation with his chief medical officer had filled in little.

The last thing that gave him pause was who was involved. Was there a reason or was it happenstance that _that girl_ was involved?

* * *

(A/N: Since people are still pointing it out, let me explain a little about Geordi's rank. After being challenged on Worf's rank in ch 1 (which I got wrong and went back and corrected), I researched everyone's rank during this year. So yes, as you can see above, I know that Geordi is a "Lt Cdr". When addressing him informally, I have shorted it to the first word, or "Lt". A little more research shows that according to current military practice, I really should be shortening it to "Cdr". However, since I've started one way, I'll continue that for the rest of this story. Probably what I really need to do is pull out the DVDs and watch some of season 4 and see what they called him and then fix it all. Don't hold your breath for that. :)


	8. Sharing Secrets

**Chapter 8 - Sharing Secrets**

[ Virtual May 10, early ]

Harry woke in only the very dim glow of his energy lamps. As the bed shifted, he realized that someone was joining him. Not feeling his wand on his arm, he readied himself, hoping he could do a Stunning spell wandlessly.

"Who's there?"

"Harry? You're awake!"

While it had been constrained to a harsh whisper, the excited alto and even almost husky voice clued him in. "Akhil? What are you doing climbing into my bed?"

The girl laughed quietly at him. "I'm climbing _back_ into your bed. I hope you don't mind that I got up to use the bathroom."

He could hear the teasing in her voice.

Not giving him a chance to reply, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Err, mostly fine," he answered before he sighed and started to get up. "I really wished you hadn't mentioned the bathroom." He stopped before he stood and made sure he was wearing something and was glad to find he at least had his boxers on. Feeling mostly safe in the dark, he went to the bathroom for some relief. He suspected she found this much more amusing than he did.

Coming back, he froze as he opened the bathroom door; she had the small bed lamp on and she was watching him with what looked like anticipation. He almost tried to hide, but then realized it wouldn't have done any good because he had to come out sometime, not to mention he had nothing within arms' reach to grab to cover himself further. Making the best of it, he strode back to bed as if it was the most normal thing in the world, although he did jump into bed and throw the sheet over himself.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked her, huffing slightly in his pique.

"I am," she said with a very self-satisfied grin.

He really looked at her now. Her hair was a bit wild, but what really caught his attention was her sleepwear. It was loose and went down to just below her bum, showing off some very nice looking brown legs. He also noticed that she had light patterns on the top of her feet. That was all easy to see because she was lying on top of the sheet. It was also easy to see and guess that the long shirt on her was probably the only thing she was wearing, which made him gulp. "Err, what time is it?"

"A little after three in the morning. Are you rested or do you need more sleep?"

"I'm not sleepy, but I really don't want to go do a lot at the moment," he answered. "I feel physically tired."

"Good, because I'm not sleepy either so we can talk."

"Uh, all right. What did you want to talk about?" he asked, not able to think of much at the moment, other than to ask why she was sleeping with him.

"Several things and I'll start with the most obvious." Her expression became very serious. "Harry, I can't tell you thank you enough for saving me yesterday."

"You're welcome. I was saving myself too," he reminded her.

"I know, but I have a feeling you could have done something different if I wasn't there, I have no idea what, but I'm sure I made it harder on you."

"You didn't," he assured her.

She shrugged as if she didn't quite believe him but chose not to argue. "Still, I'm very thankful and I'll keep my promise to you. Until you're completely well, I'll do whatever's needed to help you get well again. Are you hungry? If so, I'll go get food for you, whatever you need."

"I'm fine for now," he told her.

"I also promised you could touch my ears," her grin returned, "and anything else you wanted. When I said I'd make it worth it to save me, I did mean it."

Harry felt his face warm slightly and he tried to fight that. "That really isn't necessary."

Akhil's expression fell. "Oh, so you hate me then?"

"No!" he cried out. "No, I think you're great. I feel like we could be good friends."

"So you only think I'm ugly then?" she asked with a pout.

"Merlin no. I wasn't aware of what Klingon girls might look like before I met you, but you are kinda cute, and uh…"

"What?" she asked, trying to drag it out him.

"I, uh," he reached up and pushed her hair back on one side to let her ear show, admiring the slight point of her ear, sort of what he'd always imagined elves to have looked like when he read fantasy novels when he was younger. "I really do like your ears. I don't know why, but I think they're really cute."

She finally grinned. "It's nice to hear that you don't think I'm ugly."

He shook his head vigorously, like a Hogwarts house-elf if he could have seen himself. He also wondered if she'd just done that whole bit to tease him, but he wasn't sure.

"I guess I should tell you my secret and then we can have the conversation I wanted to have at dinner last night. They are related," she told him on a more serious note.

"Err, OK."

"How much do you know about Klingon History?" she asked.

"Nothing really."

She nodded. "I'll try to brief or we'd be here a long time."

They both chuckled at that.

"About a hundred years ago," she started, "the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Empire became allies, sort of like the Klingon Empire and the Federation are now. Do you know who the Romulans are?

"I've heard the name," he said, scrunching up his face as he tried to remember. "They aren't allies to the Federation, I think."

"They're not, nor are they to the Klingons any more," she told him. "The other thing you need to know is that the Romulans originally came from the planet Vulcan thousands of years ago, so they look alike."

"Mrs Winters showed me a picture of a Vulcan. Don't they have ears sort of like yours but pointier?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm told my grandmother was a Romulan; she was 'left' on a Klingon controlled world for doing something wrong, although I suspect she was really taken by the Klingons in retaliation for what the Romulans did on Khitomer. While the Klingons and Romulans aren't too different genetically, they're just different enough they can't have children without a little help from doctors. Therefore, you can see that my mother probably was a scientific experiment. They made her genetically compatible with Klingons and with mostly Klingon features, but a few of the Romulan features were kept too, like the ears and fewer ridges on her forehead.

"You probably also need to know that most Klingons are very proud of their ancestry, so for someone who's not completely Klingon," she sighed, "life is very difficult. I don't know if it's true, but I believe they gave her the different ears and forehead to make it obvious she wasn't fully Klingon.

"Because of that, about the only thing my mother was allowed to do was to be a prostitute. I have no idea who my father is, and because of my mother and what she gave me," Akhil pointed to her ear and her small ridges on her forehead, "it's obvious I'm not fully Klingon, so I don't have many opportunities.

"My guardian overlooks my ancestry, mostly, and she helps me where she can, so I can get my basic education, but I really have no hope of getting more in the Empire nor can I ever get a good job, which leaves me only the lowest of jobs. I try to hide my ears with my hair as much as I can, but I can't really hide my overly small forehead ridges."

"I'm sorry," he told her and grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, which she returned with a smile.

"You don't hold it against me?" she asked with a hint of trepidation.

Harry thought she was more scared of his answer than she was letting on. "No," he told her and watched her relax a little in relief. "I understand your problem, because where I came from, there were those who discriminated on who your ancestors were, as if you could control that. I thought it was really stupid, but there wasn't much I could do about it other than be friends with those who, like me, didn't care as well as ignore the bigots."

"Thank you," she told him sincerely. "I had wanted to talk to you about this last night and I wanted to ask you a question."

"Sure."

"Harry, would you help me move to the Federation?" she looked worried again. "I want to emigrate. I was going to wait until I finished my education a little less than a year from now as I would be eighteen, but I didn't know how I'd get to the Federation on my own as I'd never be able to afford it. However, now I'm on one of their ships!" she told him with obvious enthusiasm and joy.

He couldn't help but be happy for her. "Of course, I'll help. What do we have to do?"

All of her joy melted away as quickly as it'd come. "First, I have to get it approved on my side. I know my guardian won't care, and I don't think the captain or first officer will care, but I don't know about that part."

"We could ask Commander Riker," Harry told her, "he's the first officer here and I bet he'd say yes."

Akhil thought it over for a moment. "Probably, and I think I have a good chance of convincing Lt Worf to be my guardian here for the six months I need someone. The problem is still with the Q'vat. I think I need to start there first."

"All right, if you say so. I really don't know," he told her completely lost as to how to go about this, so he trusted her.

"Harry?" She moved a little closer so her body was now next to his and they were touching lightly from thigh to shoulder. "I know I'm in your debt right now, but could you do two small things for me? Please?"

Feeling her warmth through the sheet, he swallowed hard before he said softly, "Probably."

"Can you call me K'mpok? If I'm emigrating, I'd like a different name. Please?" she begged him.

He smiled and let out his breath, glad it was such an easy request. "Sure. What would you think if I called you by only the first part: Kim? It's a normal name here, unless you want the full K'mpok, then I will."

She studied his face for a moment and then smiled slightly. "That would deemphasize my Klingon heritage some. Hmm…" Her hand lightly scratched and then caressed his bare shoulder for a moment. "How about I let you call me that in private only for now and I'll see how I like it."

"All right, I can do that … Kim," he promised her.

"Kim," she sort of tasted the name. "It's fine for you, at least." She looked at him and her expression grew a little mischievous. "For my second request, can I stay with you?"

"With me?" he asked, his voice almost squeaking in surprise.

"Yes. I don't need much and your cabin is several times bigger than mine on the Q'vat, so I won't complain," she promised before her mischievous look returned and her free hand moved to his face and caressed it ever so lightly, lovingly. "I said I'd make it worth it to save me, Harry, and I truly meant it."

Ever so slowly, she leaned down as she turned his face a little more towards her. Before he could really stop her, not that he was sure if he wanted to or not, she kissed him, softly at first and then harder.

When she finally stopped kissing him, she only pulled back a little and smiled at him. "If it helps, I honestly do find you kind of cute."

Harry felt himself blushing and looked down, only to find that her nightshirt had fallen away from her body and he could see straight down it. He looked back up to her face quickly, only to see her watching him with amusement, which led him to believe she'd done that on purpose.

"I can take it off if you like," she offered. "No one should be here for at least two hours and probably more. Or I can leave it on if you prefer and just pull it up. You will have to take your underwear off."

There was no doubt what she was offering. "Kim, I really appreciate the offer, really, but isn't this kind of fast?"

"I'm not bothered by it," she told him. "The offer stands because I promised you."

"You did?" He tried to work through that and couldn't remember an offer that explicit.

"I told you I'd make it worth it to save me. What did you think I meant?" She leaned down and kissed him again.

"Err, I really didn't think you were offering _everything_ and I was a little too busy at the time to really think it through," he partially lied. He had wondered if she could have meant that, but he really was too busy holding the malformed Bubblehead charm to think her offer through completely. As she just looked at him, trying to figure him out, he felt like he had to say something. "Look, I really do appreciate the offer and I'm sure it'd be good with you, but I, well, I've never done it before."

She looked at him for a moment and just blinked, before a grin broke out on her face. "Really? I'd be your first? How is that possible for someone like you?"

Harry couldn't help frowning at her. "It's not like I've had many chances, in fact practically none."

"That seems very unusual," she finally said very slowly. "Why?" she asked honestly.

Harry considered her for a long moment. He appreciated that she wasn't make fun of him, at least not too much. It was hard to determine exactly what she was offering, at least for the long term … the short term was pretty obvious now. "When you offered to stay with me a while ago, how did you mean that? For how long?"

That topic change surprised her and caused her to lean back, removing the view down her shirt, which Harry appreciated - a little. He had enjoyed looking, but it was a lot easier to think when her bare breasts weren't on display to distract him.

Kim looked at him for a long moment before saying very seriously, "I'll stay with you as long as you want me to and as long as you don't try to hurt me." She nodded at his questioning look. "Really," she added to confirm it yet again.

"If you're really serious about that, perhaps I should tell you a secret or two about myself, but," he looked at her seriously, "you can't tell anyone."

"I promise, your secrets are my secrets," she swore solemnly.

"Do you want to get more comfortable first?" he asked, as she'd been leaning on that one elbow the whole time.

"I'd like to, but I'm not sure you'd prefer that based on what you've told me so far, because I'd be sitting so that you could see…" She all but growled, "_Everything_."

Her innuendo couldn't be missed. He was sorely tempted to look, but decided they needed to talk more before they did anything serious. With determination not to take advantage of her, he sat up in bed and moved backwards so he was leaning against the wall. He patted the spot next to him and she nodded in understanding before she moved and sat against the wall next to him.

"Better?" he asked.

"It is easier. Thank you for thinking of me and how I feel. Most of the people in my life don't," she confessed.

"I'm really sorry," he told her.

She shrugged. "I've gotten used to it."

He almost told her she shouldn't have to, but he realized she already knew that; it was why she wanted to emigrate.

"So, my story…" He considered what to tell her as he looked at her attractive legs and decided on the short version for now. "I think I told you I grew up on a backward planet." She nodded. "The reality is that I grew up on Earth, but in an alternate dimension that is nearly 400 years behind this one. So things like starships didn't exist. In fact, we'd only sent men to our moon about thirty years before I left. We also thought we were the only intelligent life in the universe.

"Something weird happened that caused what I'm told is a micro-wormhole to open up and it brought me here about a week ago. So I'm really new here and I have a lot to learn."

She didn't interrupt him because she looked gob-smacked and probably couldn't ask an intelligent question after that revelation, so he continued.

"If that doesn't make me strange enough, I have this special ability that I'm sure you've been dying to ask about. Here, Doctor Crusher calls it Anaphasic Energy. My body needs it to live and she tells me that most planets make it. Since I'm not on a planet, they made me these lamps to replenish what my body uses. Where I come from, we called it … magic."

"Magic?" she asked weakly, obviously trying to take all of this in and was having difficulty.

"Yes. I need it to live, but I can also do things with it." Harry looked over at his wand that was on the bedside table and stretched out his hand. Thinking hard about it, a couple of seconds later the wand jumped off the table and slapped into his hand. With the wand, he waved it appropriately and conjured a red rose, silently. He'd taken care to make sure to conjure it without thorns so he put it in the top of her shirt and let the stem slide down on the inside so only the pedals were sticking out of the top.

That caused her to come out of her shock and she looked down at it. Pulling it up slightly, she sniffed lightly and smiled. "It even smells like a flower, but it's not real, is it?"

He thought he understood her question. "Yes, it's real; it's not an illusion. It should be as real as if a replicator had made it, except that unlike something made in a replicator, it will disappear in a few hours to a day, depending on its size. That was what we call 'conjuring' and conjured items will disappear eventually." He didn't bother trying to confuse her with "Permanent Conjuration", which he'd never tried and wasn't sure he could do anyway.

"So this magic is how you kept us alive? You're right that I've been dying to know how you did that."

"Yes," he answered with a simple smile. "Although, that was something I've never done before. I took a normal charm that is made to cover only your head to allow you to breath underwater or in areas where you wouldn't want to breath, and I expanded it to cover my whole body and then extended it further so it would cover yours too. That's why it was so hard to do; it wasn't something natural."

He swirled his wand over his head and then tapped it, causing a mostly transparent bubble to form around his head. "This is what the charm is normally like. When done like this," he was sure he sounded a little muffled to her, "I don't have to think about it and it just works." He cancelled the spell. "But because I forced the magic to be much larger than normal, I had to actively think about it and force it to work. That meant I couldn't hold it very long."

Kim nodded slowly before lifting the flower up and smelling it again. She let it fall back down and grinned at him. "Show me more, please?"

"All right." He waved his wand at her and her shirt changed texture to a silk.

Touching the shirt on the top of her breast she 'oohed'. "Wow, that's really soft and smooth now. Can you make it bright yellow? It's my favorite color."

Another wave and the color changed.

"Can you change the material to make it more transparent?"

"I can," he answered but didn't do anything.

"Well?" she asked, almost demanded.

"I can," he repeated, "but I don't think I will. It would be too distracting, more than it is now."

She opened her mouth to protest, based on her expression, before she stopped and grinned. "I can still take it off."

"You could, but please don't for now as it would make talking to you difficult."

Kim looked at him for a moment. "So the world, or maybe time, you came from didn't approve of sex except for procreation?"

Harry looked away and straight across the room. "No, it's not that. It's… Look, I'm not experienced in sex because the school I was in discouraged it, but probably more importantly, I just never had time. When you're fighting for your life, things like dating and being someone's boyfriend kind of get ignored in order to stay alive." He didn't bother explaining about his title there and how he wasn't treated normally either.

"You were fighting for your life where you came from?" she asked with puzzlement.

He sighed as it seemed like every answer led to more questions. "There was a war because a madman was trying to take over the world. I and some of my friends fought back. It's something I don't like to think about and would prefer not to talk about."

"All right, but I can see its influence on you. I could tell before that you were the leader and I can tell now that you're a warrior at heart." As he started to protest, she added, "You may be a reluctant warrior, but you are one. You can't hide that from a Klingon who looks. A warrior can sense another warrior if he or she tries."

She moved with a grace and speed that surprised him and before he could stop her, she was sitting very closely on his lap, straddling him, holding his head in both of her hands. Miraculously, the rose was still sticking out the top of her shirt. "I said you were cute and I meant it. But you are a true warrior and that's sexy to me."

Kim started kissing him and she didn't let up for quite some time. Harry's hands moved to her waist and grabbed, not sure if he was trying to hold her in place so she didn't try to move closer or to make sure she didn't go anywhere.

Eventually, his hands began to move and went around to her back and pulled her to him a little. As she started to press herself against him more, the buzzer on his door sounded.

Harry didn't need to know Klingon to know that she cursed - her tone and expression made that obvious.

She touched the corner of his mouth with a single finger and said, making it sound almost like an order, "We'll continue that later. Get back under the sheet. The doctor is early to check on you."

Harry couldn't help but notice her shirt riding up and flashing her bare bum as she left the bed and went for the door. As her shirt eventually fell down to cover her, she also pulled the flower out and held it in her hand.

To play the part of a patient, he scooted back down in the bed and pulled the sheet up.

"Doctor Khidri sent these over for you," he heard Doctor Crusher say before she walked into his bedroom wearing a frown, Kim following and looking amused as she carried some clothes. "How are you feeling this morning, Mr Potter?"

"I'm feeling pretty good as long as I don't do too much, so we've been talking which is pretty easy. I only woke up a little bit ago." He hoped that sounded natural and he didn't look embarrassed.

Crusher was waving the sensor for her tricorder over him. She stopped and looked at the Klingon girl for a moment before telling him, "You're energy levels are lower than I'd like, but otherwise you're fine. I'd prefer you stay here under your lamps for at least several more hours this morning and the longer the better. In fact, I'm starting to wonder if I should have a third one of these made for you; I'll speak to Geordi about it."

"I promise I'll take it easy," he said, meaning it. "However, I think I'd like to go get something to eat, especially before all of those on first shift go to breakfast."

"It is still early so that might be better," the doctor agreed. "I talked to Goerdi last evening and he agreed that you don't need to work today. The biggest need for your help is past. We'll be at Starbase 454 by late tomorrow evening assuming we don't have any trouble."

"That's good. Thank you again for your help, doctor."

Crusher looked at him for a moment and looked like she was going to say something and then stopped. "You're welcome, Mr Potter. Please stop by and see if you have any trouble or questions about anything medical," she glanced briefly at the girl, "anything at all."

"I will," he promised, hoping she'd leave because this was getting awkward.

Fortunately, the doctor nodded and then left.

Kim looked at him for a moment and then started to chuckle. "I get the feeling she doesn't like me."

Harry thought about it all for a moment and tried to compare the doctor's behavior to the women that he knew from his old world. "I don't know her all that well, but it was almost like she didn't trust you to be here with me, as if you'd do something to me."

Kim gave him a throaty laugh. "I have offered to do something to you." She walked into the bathroom with a wicked smile, leaving Harry shaking his head.

He rose and got dressed before returning to his bed and sitting on the side under a lamp. This made him start to wonder about how the lamps worked and how they really affected him. He put it on his mental to-do list to find that information out. He also started to wonder about his being in space and if it wouldn't be safer for him on a planet somewhere.

A few minutes later, Kim came out in a style of uniform like he'd seen her in the first day he'd seen her, the one with pants. "Do you mind if I keep the shirt? I like it."

"I don't think it's a problem," he told her as she dropped the sleep shirt on the pile of her clothes from yesterday. "Let's go find breakfast."

A few people stared at them as they ate breakfast, or really more at her, but Kim seemed to not have a problem with it and ignored them.

After, they went back to his room to send a message to her guardian on the Q'vat for her to return. Just because he thought this might be his only chance, Harry asked her, "Can you ask if I can come over for a short tour? I'd like to see it."

Kim added that to her request and Harry sent a request to Geordi to allow him to go for a few hours. While they waited for answers, Harry laid back down on his bed under his lamps for a bit and Kim snuggled up to him, her head on his shoulder and an arm over him.

Ignoring the parts about her that were Klingon or Romulan, there was something about her that reminded him of Hermione and Ginny, sort of a mix of the two girls. It was sort of comforting in a strange way.

— — —

They must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew they were both awakened by a beep from his communicator. "La Forge to Potter."

Harry tapped his badge. "Potter here."

"Harry, can you please come see me in my office, just you; and bring your belt pack."

It took a few seconds for him to understand the request. "Of course, Chief. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Thank you, La Forge out."

"Sorry," he told her.

"It's all right, I understand," she said. "It would be the same on my ship if everything was reversed. I'll wait here."

"Thanks for understanding," he told her before he grabbed his portable generator from the table in the other room and left.

On the way, he looked at it and tried to turn it on, but it didn't. He wondered how the Chief Engineer knew it was broken. Then he remembered hearing a pop yesterday, while he was holding the bubble around he and Akhil, as well as thinking it was then that it had broken.

In Engineering, Harry took a seat in Geordi's office and put the portable generator on the man's desk. "Here it is, but it won't turn on. I'm sorry, but I broke it when I was trying to keep us alive."

"I'm not surprised as you would have stressed it more than I anticipated. I'll try to make the next one a little tougher," La Forge told him.

"Can I get the plans for it and my lamps?" Harry asked. "I'd like to see how they work."

"I'll send them to you in a few minutes and you can look at them in your room when you want." La Forge leaned back in his chair. "The reason I called you here is to talk about the accident. I personally went to investigate what happened."

"I caused it, didn't I?" Harry hung his head.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Harry, because you didn't really cause it, at least not completely."

"Huh?" That didn't make sense to Harry.

Geordi smiled, trying to put him at ease and Harry appreciated it. "Normally, nothing bad would have happened. However, the generator for the safety field over window was damaged and was barely working as it was. In fact, it probably would have stopped working on its own before we reached the starbase even if you hadn't gone near it. However, your portable generator stressed the safety system just a little too much and it went out. It was an accident that neither you nor anyone else, even me, could have anticipated. It also tells me that I need to make the field from the portable generator even more narrow than it already is."

"Still," Harry started, still upset with himself.

"Still nothing," Geordi told him forcefully. "It was an accident and like I told you earlier in the week, any accident in space that you can walk away from isn't so bad. Space is a harsh mistress. The important thing is that you and Akhil survived. How is she, by the way?"

"Her shoulder is fine now," Harry answered.

"That's good to hear. Oh, just before you came, I saw a message that her request to go back to the Q'vat was approved, and your request to go with her was also approved. We have to come out of warp for a few minutes at 1100, so you both can transfer then. We'll probably have to do some more checks later today, so you can transfer back when we do them." Geordi grinned at him. "That should give you time for your tour, which I'm very surprised you're getting, so enjoy it."

Harry grinned back, very happy. "I will, thank you."

"I know you'll do fine, but it's my job to tell you to be careful, and follow orders to stay out of trouble. If they tell you to not do something … don't. Also, be very respectful," Geordi impressed on him.

"Right, I can do that," Harry assured him.

"I know you will." Geordi leaned forward and talked a little softer. "I know you'll do fine because you're a smart young man. I put you in charge of the repair team as a little test and because I thought you could handle it. I talked to Wesley and he told me that he honestly thought you did a good job, probably better than he could have with the Klingons there."

Harry looked down and said quietly, "Thanks."

"You've done a good job this week, even without your special abilities. If it were up to me," Geordi confided, "I'd either make you a Petty Officer and keep you here with me and train you until you could be field promoted to an Ensign, or send you to Starfleet Academy and then beg Starfleet Command to assign you back to the Enterprise when you graduated."

"Really?" Harry asked as he looked up in surprise at the praise.

"Really," Geordi assured him. "I'm guessing about you a little, but I like your character and the way you work, Harry. Your special abilities are icing on an already good cake," he said with a grin. "Head back to your room and get ready; you've got a little less than an hour before the transfer. Try to be in the transporter room a few minutes early. I'll have a new portable generator for you when you return."

"Yes sir and thank you, Chief," Harry said enthusiastically, causing Geordi to chuckle.

"Oh, one last thing, the captain has given you Federation citizenship. He thought that might be helpful to you while you're on your tour. Good luck, Harry."

"Thanks, Goerdi!"

Walking back into his room a few minutes later, Kim greeted him eagerly. "Your computer console says you have a message."

"It'll be good news, according to what Geordi just told me." Harry logged in and looked at his message, or really two since Akhil's reply from her ship was sent to him.

She hugged him when she saw they could both go. "I really hope you like it."

"I'm sure it'll be fun to look around. I need to sit on the bed until it's time to go so I can absorb as much energy as possible," he told her and headed into the bedroom.

She pounced on him and they both bounced on the bed for a second and laughed. With a wicked smile, she pulled him to her and began to kiss him, which he didn't fight at all.

* * *

(A/N: Yes, Harry is making at least 1 poor decision here, but if he was perfect the story wouldn't be nearly as fun. :)


	9. Negotiations

(A/N: It's been a lot of fun to see people's guesses on what's going to happen in this chapter.

For those who wondered why Picard would allow Harry to go to the Klingon ship, there are several reasons. First, he wants to be nice to Harry and is letting him do this just as he let the Klingon teens come over to his ship. Second, he views it like the other half of the personnel exchange. Third, the Klingons are supposed to be allies and he's probably a little too trusting in this situation. However, do remember that he made Harry an official Federation citizen (since Harry was born on "Earth") and you can bet that his citizenship was pointed out to Captain K'tar.

For a bit of fun and authenticity, I've added some Klingon words. I couldn't decide whether to put a translation inline (looks bad but makes reading easier) or do only a Klingon mini-dictionary at the bottom (looks nicer but makes reading harder), so I did both to get the worst of all situations. :)

* * *

**Chapter 9 - Negotiations**

[ Virtual May 10, late morning ]

Harry hurried to the transporter room, pulling Kim behind him, both of them acting like teenagers for the moment. As they dashed in, Chief O'Brien smirked when he saw them. "Having a little fun, are we?"

"Yes sir, sorry sir," Harry told him quickly, suppressing his previous laughter. Akhil was having to force herself to be serious too.

"Not a problem now, but you probably want to avoid that for the next few hours. You really don't want to offend anyone accidentally," the older man admonished.

"Yes sir, Chief La Forge told me to be careful and I promised I'd be on my best behavior," Harry said very seriously.

"Very good. If you'll step on the transporter platform. A little to the left and onto the circle," O'Brien directed him. Akhil was already on a circle, holding her extra clothes and waiting.

"What are they doing that requires them bring us out of warp?" Harry asked.

"Well," O'Brien drawled the word for a moment. "Rumor has it that they're trying to install a new subspace antennae from replicated parts and that will require someone to go out on the hull. There's the signal that we've dropped out of warp and … there's the signal that the Q'vat is ready for you. Ready you two?" He received two nods and said, "Energizing."

Harry decided that was a very weird feeling for a brief moment, but he was relieved that it had worked. He hadn't been totally convinced before that it would work correctly because of his magic. Hoping for the best, he had tried very hard to "still" his magic as much as possible.

Looking around, he saw that the transporter room on this ship was a bit dimmer and the colors were different … darker, but it was fairly recognizable as a transporter room. Behind the console stood two Klingons, and in front of the platform a few meters from them was an older Klingon woman with hair starting to turn gray. All three were wearing what he was coming to recognize as the standard Klingon uniform.

"Akhil," the woman said sharply.

The girl stood straighter and bowed her head. "Mishtak."

"What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?" the woman asked sternly.

"None, Mishtak. There was an accident and I was unlucky to be where I was."

The woman still gave the girl a critical eye before finally saying, "Very well. Introduce your guest."

"Mishtak, this is Harry Potter." Akhil held our her hand towards him. "He was the leader of our work party and the one who saved me when the air left the room. Without him I wouldn't be alive."

Harry wasn't sure what to do so he bowed like Akhil had done.

"Harry, this Mishtak, my guardian," Akhil said very respectfully.

Mishtak looked at him for a moment and then nodded her head slowly back to the girl. "We should go to your room first so you can drop off your clothes." She turned around and started walking, expecting the two teens to keep up with her.

Harry continued to look around as they walked. The corridors were a little dimmer and more gray in color. They were also a little wider than the corridors on the Enterprise. Several Klingons passed them and looked at him with a judging eye, or so it seemed to him.

"Err, if I can ask," Harry was a little nervous, "what do you do on the ship, Mishtak?"

Not turning, she simply answered, "I am a navigator."

"Oh, what a coincidence, one of my good friends on the Enterprise is a navigator too." When she said nothing in return, he looked at Akhil, who was walking beside him, and she just shrugged. Harry didn't try further conversation.

As the door to turbolift opened, Akhil said, "You'll want to grab the rail."

Harry noticed she walked in and put one hand on the rail that ran around the lift at waist height; she also planted her feet a little wider. He copied her quickly and was glad he did when the lift took off. It was faster than the one on the Enterprise, or at least he felt the movement of this one more.

On deck forty-four, the doors opened and Harry saw this corridor wasn't quite as wide and the doors on the sides were much closer together.

"We're near the bottom of the ship," Akhil told him quietly. "My room is near."

A moment later, Mishtak stopped next to a door and waited. Akhil placed her hand on the pad next to the door and it opened. Akhil walked in three steps and tossed the clothes in her hands on the bed. The room as about three by four meters, and that included the closet. It held a bed, a small desk and chair, plus a stuffed chair for relaxing … and that was it for furniture. There was a large screen on the wall but no window.

"See," she said, "I told you it was small and I've learned not to need much."

There was no bathroom he noticed; she must have to share one down the corridor, he thought. It really wasn't all that different from what he was used to in the other dimension. "I guess I see what you mean. It's about the size of my bedroom when I was growing up."

"What did you wish to see on the ship?" the guardian asked while looking at him.

"I'd like to see the bridge, if that's allowed," Harry answered a little nervously, "and anything else interesting".

"The bridge is allowed as long as we stay at the back," she answered evenly and then looked at the girl. "Do you really want to leave?"

"Yes." Akhil looked down demurely and the woman studied her for a moment.

"I probably can't say that I've been the best parent figure for you, but I have tried to help you as I could and I would agree that your decision is probably the best you can do. I understand Worf has done well in Star Fleet?" She looked at Harry for confirmation of the last part.

He nodded. "Yes, he's head of security on the Enterprise and well respected from what I know."

Mishtak nodded as if that was how it should have been. "Then if you are to go down that path, the bridge should be our next destination. Come."

Harry stepped into the room to allow Mishtak to pass without bumping him in this narrow corridor. As before, she led with the two teens following.

Fortunately, they met no one else in the narrow corridors, but there were two others in the turbolift. They raised their eyebrows at Harry, and looked even harder when Mishtak ordered the lift to the bridge, but they said nothing to him. Harry assumed Mishtak's presence helped with that.

After several stops, with people coming and going, still with no words being spoken by anyone in the lift other than commands for the place they wanted to go, the doors opened and the three stepped out onto the bridge of the Q'vat.

Mishtak pointed to a place to the right of the doors and the teens immediately stepped over and stood there.

"This is different," Harry said quietly. "Do you know what everything is for?"

"No, it's my first time here," Akhil said just as quietly.

A Klingon on the side of the room and behind a big semi-circle console looked at them for a moment before he did something. He must have because the Klingon in the big chair in the middle of the room with his back to them suddenly stood and turned to them and smiled.

Harry recognized the man that started to slowly walk toward them as the man introduced as the First Officer when he came to the Enterprise's bridge. He also couldn't help but notice that the smile directed at him, or maybe it was at him and Akhil, was not one that Harry liked. If Snape had ever smiled, Harry thought this is what it would have looked like.

Before he was near, he started speaking in Klingon and by the time he was a step away and stopped walking, Mishtak was answering back. He said something else a little shorter. She looked like she was about to protest and he gave her what sounded like a command.

Mishtak brought her right fist up and placed it over her heart before looking at the two teens. "First Officer and Commander K'ranog will finish the tour and handle the transfer." She put her right hand on Akhil's left shoulder. "Qapla'! Akhil. 'IwlIj jachjaj." (Good-bye, Akhil, and good health.) After staring into the girl's eyes for a few seconds, she turned and walked to the door of the lift without another word or even a look back.

Harry almost desperately wanted to ask Akhil what was going on and what had been said by her guardian and the commander, but her expression stopped him. Somehow, he knew he couldn't ask as long as K'ranog was with them.

"Let me show you the bridge, Mr Potter. Come to this side of the room; we wouldn't want to get in anyone's way." K'ranog led them to the side opposite from the Klingon behind the big console.

"As you can see, we have various stations for each of the major functions of the ship as well as multiple people to run them. Of course, the best seat on the ship is the one in the middle, used only by the captain and the first officer." K'ranog sounded very pleased with himself.

While it was all said very pleasantly, Harry's imagination was working overtime. To his ears, the voice sounded "oily"; the words like they might have hidden meaning. His first impression of the Klingon first officer was "shifty" and this encounter was only reinforcing that feeling. His mind was raising all kinds of red flags about this and he would have asked to leave the ship if he had thought that was possible. Yet, he stayed because he knew he probably couldn't without causing offense and because Akhil needed him with her if she was going to transfer.

He almost reached out and grabbed her hand, to reassure her as much as to reassure himself, but he decided that wouldn't be good either. He suspected it would make them look weak and what little he knew about Klingons said that should be avoided. A glance at her, while he looked around the room, showed her to still be looking down demurely, almost as if she was afraid of the first officer.

"What do you think, Mr Potter?" K'ranog asked. "How would you compare it to the Enterprise?"

This was dangerous ground, or so Harry felt. "I find it very interesting, Commander. I think I may like the lighting here better, but it's very hard to compare. I think I'd have to work in both of them to really say, and I don't think either captain will allow that."

K'ranog laughed quietly for a moment and a few of the crew who were near enough to hear looked over and chuckled. "You would be very correct about that. Come, let's go look at the garden. Many of the crew enjoy it." He held out his hand toward the lift and indicated Akhil should led the way with Harry following; the commander walked behind him.

In the lift, the commander gave an order in Klingon and the lift moved. He didn't talk just as the others hadn't, as if there was an unwritten rule of no talking in the lifts.

Akhil led them down a wide corridor and through some double doors. The air in here was "fresher", smelling a little earthy, and certainly feeling a little more humid. The room was large and two decks tall. They entered on the second deck and started walking around the catwalk, passing a set of stairs going down to the "ground".

"While we have air scrubbers like all ships, air is also circulated through this room too for a more natural cleaning. We grow some food here, for those that like something a little special." K'ranog pointed to an area that was obviously a garden to grow some sort of herbs. "It's also a good place for a walk for lovers, something done very regularly since the ship allows committed companions to come and of course relationships can also start here. I believe we may be the first starship anywhere with something like this. What do you think, Mr Potter?"

K'ranog paused for a moment and picked a flower off of a vine that had grown up and was clinging to the catwalk's railing. He sniffed lightly once before handing it to Akhil. She looked surprised but took it and held it, staring through it or so it appeared.

When the commander looked at him, he replied, "I think this is a treasure and I can see why the crew would like it. I assume it's possible because the ship is so big?"

"Yes," the commander smiled, showing his teeth. "Large ships allow for many wonderful and powerful things."

"I'm glad you thought to show us this," Harry said as he noticed K'ranog looking at Akhil as much as he was looking where he was walking slowly, and hardly looking at Harry. "I'll have to mention it to the Chief Engineer to see if the Enterprise can put in a small one somewhere."

"Sometimes you have to take what you can get," the commander said, in a tone as if he was trying to sound wise, but didn't quite pull it off. "I'm getting hungry and it's about lunch time. Would you care for lunch? We can talk about business while we eat."

Harry saw Akhil look at him and give a small nod. "Breakfast did seem like a long time ago. Thank you for you hospitality, Commander." He planned to be polite even if it killed him, but he was certain he did not like this man.

"Excellent, or I think that is what you would say. Akhil, if you would lead us?" K'ranog walked behind her and next to Harry. "She very good from this side, wouldn't you say?" he asked quietly as if sharing a confidence.

"She is pretty," he said, thinking that was safe.

"Yes, she is. Many men on the crew have gazed upon her … beauty." K'ranog chuckled and lightly nudged Harry with his elbow.

Harry smiled and had to work to hold his real reaction in. He might have wondered before, but his doubts were now removed. The commander was definitely insulting her. Akhil's steps becoming a little louder than a moment ago made it seem like she thought it was an insult. All Harry thought he could do as she led them out of the garden area was smile at the man as if he agreed, and the commander took it that way and chuckled a little harder.

In the lift, Harry was able to see Akhil's face for the first time since the blatant insults and it was stony. She wouldn't even look at him. He also realized her fists in front of her were clinched tightly. He truly hoped that she understand that he could say nothing, just as she really couldn't. A small part of him wanted very badly to wipe the smile off the man's face with his fist, but he managed to control his temper, just as he'd had to with Snape over the years. In a small way, he was thankful to the git of an ex-Potions teacher for that lesson.

In the main mess hall, Harry found that instead of many smaller tables like on the Enterprise, the Klingons had long tables with benches on each side, much like long benches at Hogwarts.

"It looks like the benches are attached to the floor," Harry said as they walked to the wall of replicators.

"They are," K'ranog confirmed. "That way if gravity goes off for a moment in battle, they don't fly around. Also, it makes it harder for someone to pick one up and hit someone else with it." He chuckled at that.

"Let me order for you, Mr Potter. I'll let you try some of our delicacies; your equivalent of a steak, or so I think." K'ranog barked an order at the replicator and pulled out a tray and handed it to Harry.

Harry looked at it and had to work to keep his stomach from heaving. He wasn't sure if the dead little octopus looking thing or the live moving worms looked worse. At least there was a potato looking thing there, if he ignored the purplish color of it.

"Oh, I forgot the drinks." K'ranog turned back around and barked another order at the replicator, which created two goblets. Harry noticed that the commander at least had the same food as he did so he'd know how to eat it by watching the commander … and he knew he'd have to eat it as the situation stood currently.

K'ranog led them to a table that was generally empty, but there were others within earshot. Again, they gathered many looks.

As they sat, the commander put a goblet in front of Harry. "We normally don't have Bloodwine for lunch, but visitors deserve the best. A toast, to allies."

Harry saw Akhil's eyes go a little wide, the first change of expression from her in minutes. All he could do now was hope for the best at what sounded like a most disingenuous toast based on the man's actions. Lifting his cup to match the commander, he echoed, "To allies." The sip he took tasted sweet at first, then seemed to kick him. He'd had a taste of Firewhisky once, courtesy of Fred and George, and this drink was every bit as potent as the magical drink and he hoped his magical metabolism dealt with it just as well. He was going to have to be even more careful; getting drunk here would be very bad. "That's good," he said

"Glad you like it," K'ranog said, although with a slight downturn of his smile, as if he'd hoped otherwise.

Doing his absolute best to ignore what he was eating, Harry picked up his silverware and cut off a piece of octopus tentacle, much like K'ranog was doing. About the best he could say for it was that it was a little salty.

"What do you think?" K'ranog asked him.

Harry would have rather had what Akhil was having, which was a plate of vegetables, something that looked like apricots, and a slab of what looked like beef. "Good, but it seems to be missing a little something. Maybe I don't taste the way you do."

"Possibly." The commander grabbed a bottle from the table and put it in front of him. "Here's some Grapok sauce; some like this on it."

Harry tried a little and found it spicy, but it did help, even if all it did was disguise what he was eating. "That's better, thanks."

"You have to try the Gagh." (devil worms) K'ranog picked up a few of the wiggling worms and popped them into his mouth and looked at Harry. "It doesn't get much better than this."

Not backing down thanks to his Gryffindor background, or maybe it was from his time with the Dursleys when his cousin made him eat things from outside, Harry grabbed a couple of worms and popped them in his mouth as K'ranog had done. He did his best not to think about what he was eating. "Not bad." He grabbed a another and dipped it in the Grapok sauce and tried it. "Better. I like the sauce because it brings out the other flavors.

"You mentioned discussing business?" Harry just jumped into it, even if it really was Akhil's place, since K'ranog seemed to be ignoring her, other than with insults. He tried the purple potato and found it was more like a sweet potato and was quite good.

"Yes. As first officer, I can approve her application to leave the Empire, assuming the Federation is willing to take her." He sounded like he doubted they would.

"I don't believe that would be a problem, they've taken me," he said with a small grin.

"Perhaps," K'ranog said, again sounding doubtful and as if he knew better. "However, I'll make you a deal." He popped more Gagh into his mouth and waited for a moment.

Harry matched him worm for worm. "What sort of deal?"

K'ranog leaned forward slightly. "I'll approve her transfer in an hour and she can leave immediately after that if you'll meet me in the Pit for a little exercise, nothing too much I assure you, just a little fun and entertainment for everyone."

Harry couldn't help but notice that a few of the other Klingons were now paying them much more attention. A glance at Akhil showed her to look scared and she gave the slightest of shakes to warn him off. "And if I don't?"

"I am first officer and normally very busy, so I might not get around to approving her transfer until next week, unless she'd like to personally persuade me to approve it," he said, accompanied by a few low chuckles from the onlookers.

The comment was made with a look that Harry wanted to wipe off his face, personally. "What are the rules, since I'm not familiar?"

"Harry…" Akhil whispered.

"bIjatlh 'e' yImev" (shut up!) K'ranog barked at her and she shrunk back.

"They're very simple," the commander said casually. "If you don't get up by the count of ten, it's over. If you don't want to continue," he smiled ever so slightly, "just don't get up."

"No weapons," Harry half asked half demanded.

"Some forms allow for it, but I agree, no weapons." K'ranog paused and smirked. "The sooner we start, the sooner she's free, although maybe she doesn't want to go because she'd rather stay here and visit some of the officer quarters."

Harry looked into his eyes for a moment and could tell that he was serious that he thought she would do that, probably because he would blackmail her, Harry thought. He took a sip of his Bloodwine to wet his mouth and said, "I accept."

K'ranog seemed to grin and stood suddenly. "Excellent, let's go take care of business." There were muted cheers and laughter around them and for the first time, the commander led them through the ship and at a faster pace than before.

Akhil jumped to his side and did her best to whisper to him, which came out harshly due to her emotions and haste. "Harry, you can't do this. He could kill you."

"Worse than he has tried and failed," Harry whispered back very quietly and far enough behind the commander that he shouldn't have heard, "and if I don't, it's not hard to figure out what he'll make you do."

"He can try, Harry, but he hasn't been successful yet. Please don't do this," she begged him.

"I'll win your freedom, I promise," he swore softly.

They had barely finished arguing when the commander stopped and waited for them. They found an open area with a sunken room in the shape of a circle five meters across with a railing around the top. Like the garden area, it was two decks tall here, hence it did look like there was a pit in the floor.

K'ranog led him over to a door in a nearby wall and opened it. "We go down here and we'll start in about ten minutes. It is customary to give those coming time to get here and to place their bets. As I said, it is entertainment." As he explained that, several small groups started coming into the area, heading for the railing.

The commander led them down the stairs and then pointed to the left when they came to a T-intersection. "Go in the door and wait near it. We start when the bell rings." He watched while Harry turned left with Akhil on his heels.

Harry press the button to open the door and it slid into the wall.

Akhil threw her arms around his neck to stop him. "Harry, please, you can still back out as long as you don't go in there."

"I agreed to the fight and I will do it," he said with determination.

"But he's a trained Klingon Warrior," she protested as the other door opened across the circular room and K'ranog stepped through it, allowing it to close behind him, making the wall was smooth again.

Harry hugged her back and whispered in her ear. "And have you forgotten that I'm no ordinary human. I think that if I can save the two of us during an accident I wasn't ready for, I can save myself when I'm prepared."

She jerked her head back and looked at him with a sliver of hope for the first time.

Not really able to help himself, he kissed her. "I'm not sure how I'll do it, but I'll do my best to wipe that stupid look off of his face for insulting you. I know you couldn't say anything just as I couldn't, but I'll take care of it now. I'll do my best to kick his arse."

Akhil kissed him quickly and then said, "I'll go place some bets, so you better win, Harry.

"Oh, watch out, he likes to lead with his left hand and go for his lower ribs if you get the chance." She glanced through the door. "With people here now, you're safe until the captain rings the bell." Another swift kiss and she left.

Harry stepped through the door and let it close. Looking up, he saw that the railing was already completely manned except for one place, and that was next to a post that had a silver bell hanging from it.

That place was taken a few seconds later by a muscular Klingon that Harry recognized as the captain. He looked down at Harry for a few seconds in a neutral but thoughtful way and then turned as if to find someone.

Harry leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He ran through his Occlumency a little and then tried to remember the lessons Nick and Jose had taught him. He supposed this was taking his cousin's game of "Harry Hunting" to an extreme, but this time, he didn't have to just run away and hide.

— — —

Captain K'tar looked down in the Pit and it took all of his experience and effort not to curse or make any expression at all. He'd hurried down here as soon as he'd heard of the upcoming fight, but he hadn't been fast enough to stop it. He really wanted to know what K'ranog had been thinking, and speculated the commander had been thinking with the Gagh in his pants.

Turning, he saw the usual few who were heavily into betting offering up odds and taking bets. To the side and drawing a slightly bigger crowd for the moment was Akhil, who also seemed to be taking bets on the fight. That gave him pause and some hope.

Looking around some more, he finally saw who he wanted and motioned him over when the boy looked his way. The captain made a spot next to him at the rail, much to the ire of a chief petty officer who grudgingly gave up his spot because he knew better than to argue with his captain.

"Yes, Captain?"

"K'ral," the captain said softly, "while I can't bet as captain, what is your opinion on the match?" K'tar studied the young man who was trying so hard to work his way up in the world after some unfortunate decisions by his father put their House in a precarious position.

After a moment, K'ral answered, "I don't believe the match will be as one-sided as most Klingons would think."

"Go on."

"Captain, I know you didn't mean for my assignment on the Enterprise to be educational, but it was. Despite what I thought when I first went, I now see that it is possible for humans to deserve real honor, the honor of a warrior. Potter is a leader and there's something special about him that is hard to explain, but he's not stupid and when I look hard, I see the heart of a warrior. He may not win, but I wouldn't bet against him."

K'tar grunted and nodded, as it confirmed a few thoughts he'd had on the human young man after watching the two days of recordings K'ral had brought him. Discreetly digging into a pocket, he let a gold triangular-shaped coin fall to the floor with the young man's eyes following it. "You shouldn't drop your money, K'ral, but if you plan to bet, I'd suggest Murtok might give you the best odds."

K'ral picked up the coin hastily. "I appreciate the advice, Captain." He hurried away towards Murtok.

Feeling a presence from his other side, K'tar turned and saw the Chief Medical Officer arrive with her medical bag slung over her shoulder.

"Captain, you must stop this," she protested quietly, not that many would have heard her over all the noise.

"Doctor K'hidri, the fact that you say that shows that you'll never be captain of a starship. Once they entered the Pit, tradition and crew morale prevents me from stopping it, especially when I hear the human willingly accepted," he gave her a patronizing look, "and you should have known that."

"But K'ranog could kill him!" she whispered fiercely.

"There are no weapons in this fight, Doctor, but I'll also promise you that if he does, there will be two deaths today and I won't need a weapon either," the captain said fiercely.

He reined in his temper as this situation wasn't her fault. "Doctor," he said more calmly, "the second this fight is over, I want you down there and tending to Potter first even if K'ranog looks like he's bleeding out. You can either attend to the fool later or have someone else do it."

"Can I get someone from astrophysics to attend to him?" she asked drily.

K'tar snorted, a bit of his normal humor returning for the first time since he'd heard of this match. "In the end, I don't think it will matter." Her look allowed him to see that she understood the gravity of the situation. Damn K'ranog, he thought not for the first time, wishing yet again he hadn't been forced by politics to take him.

K'ral returned to the captain's side. "I got 20-to-1 and I added a couple of my own."

K'tar looked at the young man with some respect, surprised he'd done that. "It's probably time."

Looking down, both contestants were next to their doors, as they should be. K'ranog was joking with someone above him while Potter had his eyes closed and seemed to be oblivious to what was around him. He wasn't totally at ease, but he seemed more relaxed than the captain had expected for a human in this situation. In fact, he looked to be trying to meditate.

"Ready!" he yelled in Federation Standard. Despite the racket everyone was making, the noise instantly cut in half and started to fade. Both contestants looked at him. He grabbed the leather strap and rang the silver bell. The noise instantly rose again.

— — —

Harry heard the captain shout and looked and up to his left at him. With complete calm, the captain rang the bell to start the fight.

K'ranog started walking toward him very confidently. Harry moved forward very slowly and hesitantly. As Slytherin as K'ranog had tried to be that day by picking a fight, Harry was going to be more so now. He would play the underdog and do his best to slip in a couple good blows with some "extra power" and hope for the best.

They slowly circled each other, bringing up the memory of how Harry had arrived in this dimension a week or so ago.

K'ranog suddenly lashed out with his left hand. Harry moved his head just enough he felt the air move, but he wasn't hit. Stepping forward quickly, he jabbed as Jose had taught him and tried to put some magic behind it, but the Klingon also moved and it was only a grazing hit that did no real damage. Both backed off for a few seconds to reevaluate.

As Harry was about to try a feint, K'ranog lunged at him. Harry dropped and stuck his leg out. K'ranog tried to jump and got one foot up, but the other caught Harry's leg and he took a tumble, although he changed it into a roll at the last second. Both jumped up quickly and looked at the other.

The crowd roared and Harry did his best to block it out. The one Klingon in front of him was all that mattered at the moment.

With a sneer and growl, K'ranog came at him swinging. In many ways, Harry wanted him to be angry and off-balance, but one hit of those fists was going to really hurt if it connected with him. He ducked and moved around as the commander continued to come after him, also using his forearm to block.

Seeing an opening, Harry didn't move after one swing and instead brought his arm around and hit K'ranog in the side of the stomach and felt the man's bottom rib shift; but he didn't have time to follow up as a right fist was coming at him. Harry only had time to lower his head so he didn't get hit in the face and the blow hit the top of his forehead, dazing him slightly. The Klingon did follow up his blow with a shot to the body and Harry felt himself flying backward.

It was only with supreme effort that he didn't cry out when he landed. He swore he must have at least two cracked ribs. K'ranog had done to him what he'd been trying to do to the Klingon.

With effort and a hand on the wall, Harry forced himself back up while K'ranog stood in the middle of the Pit and laughed at him. Standing for a second, he put a hand over his injured ribs and thought hard about numbing them. To his relief, the pain dulled greatly. He knew he was going to have to end this soon if he was going to win.

Determined, he walked slowly towards his opponent who was gesturing with his hand to come to him. He was probably saying something insulting, but Harry wasn't listening and the crowd was very loud.

K'ranog swung and Harry ducked. Another swing and duck with a block this time, Harry also stepped to the side and a little closer. K'ranog faked with his right and swung with his left for Harry's injured ribs. Harry pulled his arm to his body so the fist hit his forearm and bicep, mostly protecting himself. It hurt, but Harry was exactly where he wanted to be.

As hard as he could and thinking of a Banishing spell, Harry hit the Klingon square in the chest with the palm of his hand. K'ranog flew back nearly two meters and stumbled, yet somehow stayed on his feet. He looked shocked as well as looked to have a little trouble breathing.

Harry didn't want to give him time to recover and walked forward. K'ranog gave a drunken kick that Jose would have laughed at; Harry knocked it aside with a forearm. Stepping inside the man's guard, he hit him in the lower chest with another magical push, feeling ribs break for sure.

K'ranog bent forward as if to protect himself and Harry used his right hand to deliver an upper-cut with his palm to K'ranog's chin while thinking Stunning spell. The Klingon's head snapped back and he dropped hard on his back, his head almost touching the wall.

Breathing hard, Harry moved sideways a few steps to lean against the wall while watching the commander lie on the ground and not moving.

Rhythmic sounds finally penetrated his focus and he heard the chanting. "Wej … loS … vagh … jav …"

Understanding it was counting, he allowed a smile to slowly cross his face.

At "wa'maH", (ten) the crowd went wild. There was a large collective groan, but a larger cheer that sounded positive. He looked at the captain who rang the bell, signifying the end, he assumed.

The bell was probably still vibrating when someone jumped over the railing with arms held wide and hair flying behind her before she landed gracefully. Springing up from her landing crouch, Akhil launched herself at Harry.

"Careful!" he cried as her arms went around him and her hands landed on the wall next to his body to encase him, but not pull them together.

"I love you, Harry!" she cried and kissed him hard. "I can't tell you how happy I am that you kicked his ass, the petaQ." (bastard or a-hole)

"I'm just glad it's over," he breathed. Another person flew over the railing and the bell started ringing loudly over and over. As it became quiet, Doctor K'hidri walked up to him. Akhil moved back and the doctor started running her tricorder sensor over him.

"Attention," the captain yelled into the now mostly silent room. "I understand that K'ranog bet the approval of a transfer for Akhil to the Federation this afternoon. As he is not able to uphold that promise, I will fulfill it."

Akhil looked relieved and Harry was thankful he hadn't fought for nothing.

"Doctor?" the captain called.

"Two hours," she answered loudly.

"For those who made a bet payable to Akhil, instead of the normal twenty-four hours to settle, you have two hours. You'll be able find her in her quarters on deck forty-four. If you do not pay her, you will answer to me." The captain turned and said something to a person next to him and then walked away through the slowly dispersing crowd.

"Come, Mr Potter; we must get you to sickbay," the doctor ordered.

"How bad is it?" Akhil asked the question Harry had been about to as they slowly made their way to a now open doorway out of the Pit. K'ranog still hadn't moved.

"Two broken ribs and one more cracked, plus a number of bruises," the woman answered. "All things considered, not as bad as I'd expected." She looked at Harry. "How badly does it hurt?"

"I'm really trying not to think about it," he answered quietly, not really wanting to stress anything in his body at the moment. He suspected his numbing charm would be wearing off very soon.

"What about K'ranog?" he asked.

"Someone will be down for the idiot shortly," the doctor answered, sounding a little gruff.

The doctor stopped them at the bottom of the stairs and pressed her hypospray to the area over his injured ribs and injected him. "That will help with the pain until I can fix them. Slowly," she commanded him.

Harrry didn't need to be told that, he would have done it anyway, but he appreciated the caring attitude. Halfway up he realized that Doctor Crusher would probably freak out at this latest set of injuries.

At the top of the stairs, two Klingons were waiting for them, one male and one female. Without being asked, the male said, "I'm to go with him until he's ready to leave the ship. She," he indicated the female guard, "will stay with Akhil until she's ready to leave. The captain thought a little security would be in order."

Doctor K'hidri nodded. "Probably wise of the captain."

Akhil put her hand behind his head and pressed his cheek to hers for a mini-hug. "Get better. It seems I will meet you in the transporter room in two hours. I will continue to care for you and I will make up for this trouble you put yourself in for me."

"But Akhil…" then he whispered, "Kim."

"Shush," she told him as she stood back. "Go with the doctor. I'll see you soon." Akhil walked through the crowd and the female security person went with her.

K'hidri started leading Harry toward the turbolift and then sickbay.

* * *

(A/N: Sorry, the aftermath comes next chapter. I'll post that sometime during the weekend. In case it wasn't obvious, Akhil was on the Q'vat only because her guardian brought her as she was responsibile for the girl.)

Klingon Mini-Dictionary, gathered from various websites:  
Qapla'! - good bye, literally, "Success!"  
'IwlIj jachjaj - good health, literally, "May your blood scream!"  
bIjatlh 'e' yImev - shut up!  
Gagh - worms, literally, "Devil worms"  
petaQ - bastard or a-hole


	10. Winnings

(A/N: We finally finish the day. I seemed to have surprised a few of you with the last chapter. :)

* * *

**Chapter 10 - Winnings**

[ Virtual May 10, late afternoon ]

Harry saw the security guard stiffen to attention, so he looked over to see the captain in the doorway to sickbay looking around the room. After a moment, he walked over to the doctor standing next to Harry. "Doctor, how is Mr Potter?"

"The two broken and one cracked ribs are mostly mended. I'm treating the bruises now. He can leave in about five minutes," she answered.

"What about K'ranog?" The captain nodded his head to the man in the next biobed.

"Five broken ribs, but that's mostly from the blow to his chest that broke his sternum. He also has a cracked jaw and a mild concussion. I've left him unconscious so I don't have to listen to him. Doctor K'zak is working on him," she told him.

"Make sure he stays unconscious until I call for both of you," he ordered.

K'tar looked at Harry and stood a little straighter. "Mr Potter, on behalf of the Q'vat and the Klingon Empire, you have my apologies for your trouble today. While it is part of K'ranog's responsibilities to approve transfers, he greatly overstepped his authority in forcing you - a Federation Citizen - into a fight to have that done. He is an idiot and will be put before a review board to justify his actions. It is my firm belief that he has no justification."

Harry could feel the man's sincerity from where he lay and felt like he could understand, at least a little. In a way, this is what Dumbledore should have done for him in regards to Snape's actions in the classroom. Harry now respected Snape for his efforts to be a spy, but the Potions professor was still a royal git for how he treated Harry when he was a teacher.

"I understand that you can't fully control everyone who works for you. Thank you, Captain, for the apology and for both of the guards you gave us; and thank you for approving the transfer for Akhil."

The captain nodded but looked a little upset. "Mr Potter, if I may ask, when K'ranog gave you such a crazy sounding requirement, why didn't you ask to see me? This whole trouble could have been avoided."

Harry looked away and felt embarrassed. "I didn't think you'd want to be bothered as you must be very busy as a captain."

"Wasn't it obvious that K'ranog was greatly overstepping his authority?" the captain persisted.

"Captain," Harry turned to look at him, "you have to understand that I came from a backward planet and until about a week ago I didn't even know Starfleet existed. I'm afraid I don't know what's normal, and even if I did, how would I know that's normal for Klingons too?"

K'tar raised a busy eyebrow and sighed. "I suppose you have a point that what you understood as normal might not be here." He didn't bother to address the other part.

"I'm almost done," Doctor K'hidri said before she walked away.

"Captain? I want you to know that I don't blame you for what happened. K'ranog is the one at fault. Akhil has been a good friend, and even K'ral is nice enough, at least after I got to know him. Doctor K'hidri has been a good example also. I don't dislike Klingons and you have a ship you should be proud of. On the other hand, if you decide to slap K'ranog's hand because he's been a bad first officer and he never gets Gagh again, I think he'd deserve it."

A deep chuckle escaped K'tar. "Thank you, Mr Potter. You should also know that you've changed K'ral's mind for the positive about you and humans in general; he has a respect that he didn't have before. That's an accomplishment that I'm sure was difficult to earn."

"Mr Potter?" Doctor K'hidri handed him a small yellow piece of plastic, which he had learned recently was a data wafer. "Give this to your Doctor Crusher. It explains your injuries and my treatment. You are free to go, but I would advise you to take it easy for the next few days as well as follow any treatment your doctor suggests."

"Thank you, Doctor, for your help to me and to Akhil." Harry slowly sat up and noticed only a small twinge. He was amused that doctors here were almost as good as Madam Pomfrey had been with magic. He supposed that each might have been better in a few areas over the other; perhaps that was a conversation he should have with Doctor Crusher sometime, if he ever saw her when he didn't need help.

"Doctor, if you would tell Akhil to join us in transporter room five," the man ordered.

"Yes, Captain," she answered as the three walked out of her domain.

"I understand you visited our large garden. I assume that's the part you liked best?" the captain asked while they walked side-by-side, with the security man trailing.

"Yes, it was really pleasant. Of course, the bridge was interesting too. It's more different from the Enterpise's than I originally expected. I'm not sure if that's a comment on the needs of each ship, the different cultures, or simply the designers of the ships."

K'tar chuckled. "I would expect it to be all of the above. The Enterprise is a fine ship. Of course, as the flagship of Starfleet, it should be. Captain Picard is also an excellent captain; his reputation is very good even in the Klingon Empire."

"Worf talked very highly of you," Harry told him.

The captain smiled slightly. "Worf is an interesting person in an interesting position. You shouldn't ask him about it unless you become very good friends, though."

"Thank you for the advice," Harry said.

They entered the turbolift and again nothing was said in it. They didn't really talk during the rest of the short walk and until they arrived at the transporter room, a larger one than he had arrived in earlier in the day. Akhil was waiting for him, with her security guard, and she had twolargish crates with her in the center of the platform.

Rushing over, she pulled him into a hug. "Better?"

"Yeah, loads. Are you all right?"

She looked at him and frowned. "Me? I was never hurt. Are you sure you're completely healed?"

The chuckle from the captain caused the both to look at him for a moment and then step away from the other. "If you'll step onto the transporter." It may have been phrased gently, but both teens jumped at the obvious command.

"Were all bets paid?" the captain asked as he stepped up.

"Yes, Captain," she replied respectfully.

At a nod from the captain to the transporter operator, they were sent to the Enterprise.

Harry stared at the welcoming committee and did his best not to turn away. He couldn't help a fidget and looked at Akhil, who looked as nervous as he felt. Practically the entire senior staff was waiting on them.

"Captain K'tar, welcome back to the Enterprise," Picard said. "I hope you don't mind me saying, but I was surprised that you were escorting them back personally as well as asked for my and the doctor's presence."

Harry understood now. Of course, once a request like that had been made, he could see everyone being brought along. Only Data was missing and Harry suspected the android was minding the bridge and the ship as a whole. At least no one looked upset at him - yet.

K'tar nodded. "Yes, I can see how that might be alarming. There was a little trouble, but not like you probably fear. Perhaps there's a better place for us to discuss this?"

"Of course, there is a conference room down the corridor that we can use," Picard said.

"May I leave these here and get them later?" Akhil asked meekly and pointed at her two crates.

"That's not a problem; I'll watch over them for you," Chief O'Brien said. "Go ahead and I'll move them off of the platform."

As they were walking out, Harry looked back and noticed the chief struggling to move the first crate, which made him wonder just how much stronger Akhil, or Kim now that they were back on the Enterprise, was than him. Then again, maybe the security guard had helped her.

Everyone took a seat at the large table in the conference room a minute later and they all looked at the Klingon captain. He pulled his own little data wafer out and slid it down the table to Picard. "This was generally the start of the problem; well, that and my fool of a first officer."

Riker looked very interested at that.

"On it, you'll find an application for Akhil, no house, to emigrate to the Federation." K'tar paused as everyone stared at him and then quickly at her.

Harry reached out and grabbed her hand, which she seemed grateful for.

"It seems," K'tar continued, "that when K'ranog, my first officer whom I believe you met, heard of this, he hatched some scheme to take advantage of them for reasons I've yet to uncover."

He stopped and took a deep breath. "You should know that he was assigned to me and I had no choice but to take him.

"Anyway, they," he indicated the teens, "seemed to think that they had to deal with it themselves and didn't come to me because they thought I was too busy, despite the crazy and foolish deal K'ranog told them was their only way to get approval for her transfer."

When he didn't say anything for a moment more, Picard asked, "If I may, what was the … deal?"

K'tar actually looked embarrassed. "That he would approve the transfer and she could leave this afternoon if Mr Potter would fight him in the Pit."

"What?!" Worf shouted and jumped to his feet, breathing heavily and looking like he was ready to slay the absent man with his bare hands. While the others didn't have such a dramatic reaction, they didn't look happy.

"Captain," Picard said a little louder than normal to get everyone's attention, "while I can guess as to what you mean by that, would you please explain it so I can understand Lt Worf's reaction. Mr Worf, if you would please retake your seat, we will get to the bottom of this. Fortunately, it's plain that Mr Potter made it through whatever happened."

"Of course, my apologies, Captain," he said with a nod to Picard. Worf turned to the visiting one, although not quite as respectful now, "And Captain," before he took his seat.

"Lt Worf is rightly concerned and I did my best to prevent it, but it was already too late by the time I'd heard." K'tar shook his head. "The Pit is a room that we have in which two people can fight in, without weapons. It's used to work out severe disagreements without death. In most cases, and in the one for Mr Potter, the fight is until one is knocked down to the count of ten or else yields. Of course, the normal reason a fighter stays down is because he's unconscious."

"Wait!" Ricker called out suddenly sitting up straight in his chair and glanced at Worf before turning back to their visitor. "Are you saying Mr Potter had to fight your first officer, a Klingon Warrior, until one of them was unconscious?" The rest of the Starfleet crew looked as troubled by that as Riker did, except for Worf who was angry nodding.

"That's exactly what he means," Worf answered for him and glared at the captain.

"As I said, I tried to prevent it, but K'ranog took steps to make sure I could not intervene. However, I will put your mind at ease by saying that Mr Potter won the fight by knocking K'ranog flat on his back and unconscious for far longer than the count to ten. It was quite a sight to see the fool's own scheme turned against him." K'tar looked at Harry. "I still don't understand why Mr Potter didn't come to me when the deal was presented," he looked over one seat, "or why Akhil didn't either, but I am pleased with the outcome."

Picard cleared his throat. "Mr Potter, why didn't you go to the Captain? Or better, why didn't you come to Commander Riker or myself to begin with? We could have handled it all for you and been glad to do so."

Harry looked down and this time it was Akhil who reached out to him and he gave her a caring smile. "As I told Captain K'tar," he looked at Picard, "I knew he was a busy man, like you are. Also, I don't think I told you before, but where I came from, well, the adults rarely helped, so if we needed something important done, we had to do it ourselves."

"Then there was K'ranog, the petaQ!" (bastard) Akhil spat before she added, "His father must be a Tribble because he has no honor!" which caused Worf to look at her in surprise.

K'tar merely shook his head at the boy's explanation and the girl's insults. "Let me guess, he insulted you every chance he got. Oh, I'm sure," he didn't give them a chance to answer just yet, "it was phrased as if it could have been nice, but after a few, you had little doubt they were insults."

Harry nodded. "Then when the offer to fight was made, I acted like I wasn't sure, but I took it just so I could beat the insults back into him. I hoped he'd underestimate me and I got lucky that he did. Perhaps that wasn't the most … civilized thing I could have done, but it seemed to me he invited that."

When no one said anything for a moment, Akhil spoke up softly. "Captain Picard, please don't hold this against Harry or me, I beg of you. Please let me emigrate. I won't cause fights now that I'm here. I won't take up any extra space; I can stay with Harry." Her "boyfriend" nodded his agreement and she grabbed their clasped hands with her free one, so she was holding him with both hands, as if to show how precious he was to her. "I promise I'll do whatever job you place me in and I'll study very hard. I only have my last year of school left."

"Miss Akhil, if you really want this, I don't think it will be a problem. Captain, I assume your approval is on here?" Picard lifted the data wafer.

"It is." K'tar looked a little uncomfortable. "While I can't say this officially, it is my opinion that it would be best if she could emigrate and if Lt Worf would consent to be her guardian for the next six months, which is when she'll turn eighteen."

"It will probably take a few weeks to become official," Picard told her, "but for now, this is provisionally granted and you may stay with us."

Akhil had an excited look and it appeared as if she was having to struggle to contain her joy.

"Congratulations," Harry told her and pulled her into a hug, which she returned so hard his back made small pops.

"Sorry!" she said contritely.

Harry chuckled. "Don't worry, it felt good."

"Captain, one last question if I may?" K'tar nodded and so Picard asked pointedly, "What will happen with your first officer in what should be considered an attack on a Federation citizen?"

The Klingon captain frowned for a moment before his expression changed to one of being slightly pleased. "K'ranog has been suspended from duty and he will face what you would call a review board. I am of the belief that I will be losing a first officer that I never wanted to begin with and that I feel was never really qualified for the position. Beyond that, it's difficult to say."

"And if he had killed Mr Potter?" Worf asked with a growl.

K'tar took no offense at the tone or the question. "Then I would have sent him to Gre'thor (hell) - personally."

Worf nodded and relaxed, apparently pleased with that answer.

K'tar stood. "Captain Picard, I thank you for being understanding with this … this accident."

"Treachery," Harry heard Kim breathe the word; it appeared no one else had, or at least they didn't acknowledge it.

"Captain, I thank you again for helping us to our starbase," Picard said as he led the man out of the room with Worf going along as well.

Riker, Crusher, La Forge, and Troi stayed behind.

"Harry, why didn't you come to me for help?" Geordi said first.

"Or me?" Riker added. "We could have taken care of her emigration without you putting yourself in danger."

"I'm sorry," he said, hanging his head. "I'm still getting used to helpful adults."

"It's all right to make mistakes, it's part of learning," Deanna told him, "but we are here for you and if something doesn't sound right, please come ask us."

"OK," he agreed quietly.

"One of the things you do well is learn from your mistakes," Geordi told him. "All we ask is that you learn from this too and try to avoid danger in the future. We do care about you."

"My turn," Crusher said. "As I told you before, I'm here for you too if you need to talk. I'm also your doctor, so I'd like you, each of you really, to come to sickbay so I can see how you are. I have trouble imagining you fighting someone like Worf and not getting hurt in some way."

"I, err, I did spend almost two hours with Doctor K'hidri," he said sheepishly.

Crusher's lips pressed together and she shook her head slightly with a look of exasperation. "Come on then; let me do a checkup on you."

"Doctor K'hidri sent this for you," Harry handed her the data wafer.

On the way out of the room, Geordi told him, "I put a couple of things in your room for you. Also, be a student for a while again. I'll let you know when you should come help us out, but that probably won't be for two or three days."

"Thanks Geordi."

"Harry, I think we need to have a few more talks," Deanna Troi told him. "I believe there are a few things we need to talk about to help you adjust here." She turned to the new girl. "I'm Counselor Deanna Troi. I'd like to have a few talks with you as well to help you adjust to the Federation. I can also answer various questions for you, or get the answers if I don't know them."

"All right," Kim said, not quite sure what a counselor was for, since the Q'vat didn't have one.

"If you'll follow me, please?" Crusher said and led them to sickbay.

— — —

Doctor Crusher wasn't too hard on him, mostly because he was doing fine now, other than he was low on magical energy again. He was surprised when Doctor Crusher told him that Doctor K'hidri had also put Akhil's complete medical records on the data wafer too.

Arriving at his room, Kim growled. "I forgot my things in the transporter room."

"Don't worry, we'll get them. Let me grab my wand first." Harry picked up the magical device and his strap for it, feeling better about having it on him again. He'd left it here on purpose so nothing could happen to it on the Klingon ship.

He also noticed a third lamp over his bed and his portable generator was on his desk. Pleased to have it back, he strapped the smaller generator on and flipped the switch. "Let's go," he told her.

A few minutes later, they were in the transporter room and Chief O'Brien was still there. "I moved them to the side." He pointed at the crates. "What do you have in there that made them so heavy?"

"Just my things," Kim said brightly, causing the Chief to shake his head.

Harry went over and made sure his back was to the Chief so the man wouldn't see this. Pulling his wand out, he cast a Featherweight charm on both crates and put his wand away. "Let's see if we can take this back to my room."

"I'll get an anti-grav lift for you," the Chief said.

Harry grabbed a handle on one and lifted with one hand as if it didn't weigh more than a few kilos. "Nevermind, I think we got it." He had to work to hold his laughter in at the shocked expression on the chief. It was a really fun joke. Kim grabbed the other with one hand and they both returned to his room.

"I assume you made them lighter with your magic?" she asked when they were alone again.

"Yep," he told her with a grin. "So what is in here? I can't imagine you having this much stuff in the room you showed me."

"Oh, no, it's mostly my winnings from the bets," she said happily. "I'm actually pretty rich now, at least for a teenager." She opened one crate and there were gold bars and three-sided gold coins visible along with various other things. "This is probably equal to about five years of wages for a good paying job. For a low level job like I could have expected after I finished school, this might be as much as ten years of wages if I was careful."

"Seriously?!"

"Uh-huh. Of course, since you weren't expected to win or even come close to winning, I received a _**lot**_ more than I would have for a normal fight in the Pit," she explained.

Harry wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he asked anyway. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what would you have had to pay if I'd lost?"

She looked at him for a moment. "Let's just say I'm really glad you didn't lose." She moved to the other crate and opened it. There were all sorts of things in here, including her clothes. She grabbed the top item and presented it to him. "Look, I got my own bat'leth now," she announced excitedly and with a large grin. "I have various knives too, but this is the one weapon I most wanted. I hope I can convince Worf to teach me to use it properly. Mishtak would only give me one lesson."

Harry just shook his head, realizing they had a lot more things to learn about each other.

Suddenly, she put the weapon down and turned to him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she told him, "There's time to look at that stuff later, and to dress you in a Klingon uniform I won that I think will look great on you."

"Really?" Harry wasn't sure what to think about that.

"Yes. For now, I need to take care of you like I promised. Let's go get a shower and I'll give you a massage. I'm sure you stressed a few muscles fighting for me so it's my job to take care of that."

"But…" he started to protest.

"Come, Harry." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bathroom. "I'll make you feel better, then we'll get dressed and go have dinner, then we'll come back and I'll give you a more extended massage."

Harry felt a little trapped, but she was so well meaning and nice about it all. As she pulled her top off to reveal her bare breasts and a lot of smooth brown skin, he decided that maybe this wasn't such a bad way of getting to know each other after all. He was a teenager, and weren't teenagers supposed to have some fun?

— — —

Doctor K'hidri pressed a hypospray to K'ranog's neck and injected him with a stimulate. A few seconds later, his medically induced sleep was cancelled and his eyes opened suddenly. She stepped back one step as he sprang up in a sitting position and looked at where he was. "The captain has asked both of us to come to the bridge."

"What happened at the end of the fight?" he demanded.

She looked at him for a moment and then calmly repeated, "The captain has asked both of us to come to the bridge." She glanced to the side at the security guard standing there.

K'ranog caught the look and saw the man too, and with his hand on the handle of his disrupter. After a moment, he swung his legs over the side of the medical bed and stood, before he stopped and looked at her. "Why am I still so sore?"

"Five broken ribs, a broken sternum, a cracked jaw, and a blow to the head for a concussion," she answered before heading for the door. K'ranog slowly followed her with the security guard coming last. Nothing else was said on the way, for which K'hidri was glad as she didn't want to talk to him anyway.

She thought his actions were dishonorable, between the fight that never should have happened and his trying to take advantage of the girl. She had also come to like the human boy for his willingness to put his life in danger to save the girl because he was responsible for her as their work leader. That he was willing to fight for her stirred her blood and made her proud of him.

On the bridge, she walked to the captain's office and pressed the buzzer. The door opened and she entered. The first officer still walked a little gingerly, but he wasn't far behind her. The door closed after him so it was only the three of them.

"Sit," K'tar said simply as he leaned forward on his desk and stared at his first officer for a moment.

K'hidri thought that K'ranog sat still by the slimmest of margins from the glare he was receiving. She knew she felt on the defensive and she wasn't the one being glared out.

"I'm not sure what I should do to you after what you've done today. While it was by accident that we found the Enterprise while it was damaged and I arranged to help her thereby gaining us a favor from the Federation that would have gained us much honor and respect at home, you have practically thrown all of that away in an hour or two by almost causing an galactic incident." K'tar paused and looked a little harder. "Tell me why I shouldn't send you out the airlock right now."

K'ranog couldn't hide his shocked look. "I only wanted to have some fun with the human."

K'tar slapped his hands down on his desk and stood suddenly to lean over his desk as he roared, "Some fun?! You fool! You attacked a citizen of our ally! If he had been killed or probably even injured in a permanent way, there would be war and it would all be on your head!"

The captain stood fully and contemplated the man as if looking at a worm, who was leaning back away from him. In a low voice he said, "If it was allowed, I'd challenge you to a duel in the Pit right now and then send your dead body to the Enterprise as a peace offering … or else I'd let Worf come over who I know would like to do the same thing to you. Unfortunately," he said with great regret, "neither option isn't allowed of me. So, would you like to try again on why you thought challenging the human to a fight was such a great idea?"

K'ranog said nothing and looked steadily at the desk.

After a long moment of silence, K'tar said calmly. "I can understand a little fun. If you had suggested it to see his reaction and then laughed when he accepted and said it was a joke, I might have laughed with you … but you didn't do that.

"No, you thought with your…" the captain glanced at the doctor during the brief pause, "pants, didn't you? You've hated Akhil since she turned you down, haven't you?"

K'ranog's head snapped up.

"Yes, I heard about the little half-breed turning you down, despite her not turning a few others down. You wanted revenge, didn't you?" K'tar asked coldly. "That's really what you wanted, wasn't it? So you insulted her and the human, Potter, to provoke a fight and used your authority to sign her transfer to force it. You even made sure the offer happened in such a way that I couldn't stop your foolishness. All for what? A half-breed girl that almost no one wants and everyone would be glad to see gone?"

K'hidri watched the drama, not able to really look away. She also wasn't quite sure why she was here as she knew the captain didn't need protection and she doubted he needed a witness.

"In fact, let's see just how foolish you were. Computer, play recording of the fight," commanded K'tar and the large screen on the wall behind him lit. The captain stepped to the side slightly so all had a good view.

The screen showed the Pit just as the captain was reaching for the bell and K'tar said, "Computer pause," causing the image to freeze after only a few seconds of play.

"Let's look what we have just before we start, shall we? Tell me, K'ranog, does the human look afraid to you?" He gestured to the young man who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.

"He's obviously trying to calm himself because he knows he's about to lose," K'ranog answered, finally finding his voice.

K'tar didn't looked like he believed it but only said, "Computer, continue."

They all watched the fight continue for a minute or so until the image of K'ranog hit Potter and he flew back a meter or so and hit the wall.

"Computer, pause." K'tar looked grim. "You played with him, you treated him like some pet Targ; but you forgot something. Computer play … pause." It froze again after showing only five more seconds. "You wounded the Targ and backed him into the proverbial corner, and then you forgot to treat him with respect."

"He's a human!" growled K'ranog.

"Who kicked your ass!" the captain returned louder, shutting the commander up although he looked furious. When the commander settle a bit, the captain continued in a more normal voice. "You wounded the Targ but you didn't finish it and you didn't give him the respect he deserves. Do you see him? Look, really look, K'ranog," the captain ordered and pointed at Potter's image.

"That look on his face is determination," K'tar said quietly. "That is him deciding that he is going to win … no matter … and even despite … what it will cost him. It doesn't matter that he's a _human_," he slurred the word and mocked the younger man. "You figuratively turned your back on the wounded Targ and he bit your hand off. Computer resume play."

They watched the rest of the fight, which ended with K'ranog being knocked on his back and not moving.

"Computer end recording." K'tar looked at his first officer with contempt. "Not only did you almost cause a galactic incident, you couldn't even win a fight with the human boy. I don't think your patron will be able to do much for you once this is shown."

Horror leapt onto K'ranog's face.

"You are relieved of duty until a board of your superiors reviews your actions. Do not return to the bridge unless called. Dismissed!"

K'ranog glared angrily at the captain and balled his fists, but he said nothing and eventually stood from his chair and marched to the door, the captain following.

Before K'ranog had taken more then three steps out of his office, K'tar stood in the doorway of his office to the bridge and raised his voice. "Commander Qua'lon." The chief of security looked at him from behind his large console; everyone else looked at him too, except for K'ranog who froze on his way to the turbo lift. "Record that Commander K'ranog has been relieved of duty for actions unbecoming of an officer of the Klingon Defense Force and assault on a citizen of an ally. He is not allowed on the bridge and all secure access is revoked until he is cleared of the charges, assuming he is so lucky."

All eyes followed the disgraced man to the turbolift and then the hushed conversations started. K'tar returned to his office and his desk.

K'hidri wondered what was going to happen now; she didn't think she was in trouble, but she still wondered why she was here. "He might not survive until the board."

"Not my problem," the captain said slowly. "He should have considered his actions against an ally and the consequences from them; but more importantly, he should have considered his opponent. Someone who can protect two people from the vacuum of space without suits and without any special equipment is enough of a mystery that it should have stopped him. The Anaphasic Energy the sensors recorded during the accident yesterday is like nothing ever seen before.

"Computer, play one second at bookmark one at one-twentieth normal speed." They watched Potter very slowly put his hand on his side and a slight glow appeared around his hand for a single image. K'tar then commanded, "Computer, play one second at bookmark two at one-twentieth normal speed." They watched Potter hit K'ranog on the chin with a very slight reddish glow around his hand for another single image.

"If I hadn't slowed the replay down so much, I'd never have noticed." He leaned back in his chair and looked only a little less threatening. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me, Doctor?"

The doctor felt caught for a moment. "My scan of him," she said finally, "didn't show anything special other than he has Anaphasic Energy in his body; not in a single organ, but all over his body and to a lesser extent in his limbs. It is my belief that he's a side-step on the evolutionary ladder and the only one of his kind."

K'tar nodded slowly as he considered that. "I'm not sure, but perhaps the worst thing about all of this is the loss of opportunity to study him. The idea of someone with his power in the body of a Klingon is very interesting. I can only hope that my being nice to him will smooth over K'ranog's stupidity so that I might be able to meet him again and perhaps introduce him to one of the girls in my house. If a child had his powers, that's a half-breed I don't believe I'd mind."

The captain shook his head at lost opportunity. "Thank you for healing him, Doctor. Dismissed."

* * *

(A/N: K'tar can be sneaky and yet still be honorable, or so it seems to me. This was the last full chapter. All that's left is the epilogue in a couple of days.)

Klingon Mini-Dictionary, gathered from various websites:

petaQ - bastard or a-hole  
Gre'thor - Klingon hell, the afterlife for Klingons with no honor


	11. Epilogue

**Chapter 11 - Epilogue**

[ Virtual May 11 ]

When Harry awoke the next morning, he was again reminded of Hermione. If hair were the only consideration, he thought she and Kim could be sisters. He still missed his friends greatly, but also realized he hadn't thought about them much in the last few days. Then again, he had been very busy lately.

A naked Kim was draped over him, which reminded him of Ginny. While he hadn't done this with her, he had wanted to. There was no Weasley family to be a part of now, something he had enjoyed, yet he didn't have to deal with the constant chaos of that family either. Perhaps his present arrangement was better … or he told himself that to feel better whether it was true or not.

Considering Kim, he wasn't sure what to do about her, at least long term. He supposed the biggest question was if she truly liked him, or if it was all about saving her life and helping her move to the Federation. She was fun to be around, of that there was no doubt. Not sure what else to do, he'd just take it day by day and see what happened.

Looking at the clock, he saw that it was mid-morning and was surprised they'd slept so late. Then again, they'd also stayed up very the night before. Caressing her back from her shoulder down to her bum, she awoke with a slight start and looked at him.

"It's past time to get up," he informed her.

"I was having such a good dream too," she complained as she dropped her head back down on his chest, causing him to have to blow some of her hair out of his face.

"Oh?"

She rolled over to be completely on top of him and rose to lean on both elbows. "Yeah, I was flying my own little spaceship and traveling wherever I felt like. It was a really nice ship. I even had my own boy-toy, who looked a lot like you for some reason." She blew a kiss at him.

"So I'm your boy-toy?" he asked in surprise.

"In my dreams," she answered and then kissed him. "In reality, I'm your girl-toy, or something like that."

"You're not a toy to me," he told her seriously.

"I know," she replied with a smile. "That part of why I like you. You could have asked for that and I'd probably even have done it, at least for a few days, because of what you've done for me. But because you didn't ask, it makes me like you more and so I'm willing to live with you. I think you're very special and I also find the warrior in you to be sexy."

He supposed that answered part of his earlier question. "You're pretty special too. I guess we'll have to see how things work out then. Are you hungry?"

"Yes, but I can wait for a little bit if you can."

"I can, but why?"

She answered his question with a kiss and then started to resume last night's activity.

— — —

After a late breakfast, they went in search of Mrs Winters. The classrooms had been in the middle of the saucer section, so they had survived with little damage from the exploding Borg ship.

"Harry, it's good to see you again," Ada Winters said when they found her. "I assume this must be Miss Akhil; I was told to expect her."

"Hello," the girl said with a nod. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be called K'mpok, or," she looked at Harry for a moment, "if it's easier, you can call me Kim."

"That would be no problem at all. Where are you in your studies?" Winters asked.

"I've already started on my last year, assuming what I've done will transfer." Kim seemed hesitant, almost afraid she'd have to do more work.

"Other than history and maybe a few other minor things, I would imagine it's all the same. However, I'd like to give you a few tests to make sure. It's possible you've already completed what we could consider the basic education, at least in some areas," Winters told her with a smile and Kim looked hopeful that was true.

"We'll let Mr Potter resume his studies and you can come with me. I think there's time for one or two tests before lunch, then we can resume afterward. We should know what your standard is before the end of the day tomorrow. Come, my dear."

Harry watched the two walk away and shook his head. Mrs Winters seemed so sweet and easy going, which was a big contrast to most of his teachers at Hogwarts. He went to his previous work area and resumed his learning after a short review to remind him what he had been working on before all the trouble of the last few days had begun.

— — —

That evening, Harry and Kim walked hand in hand into Ten-Forward. Rumor had it that a party was there for the ship reaching Starbase 454. The rumor was very true as there were a lot of people in the large room.

They each grabbed a drink and stared out the main windows, as many others were doing. A few minutes later, they saw the process of dropping out of warp and entering sub-light speeds. A moment later, the big Klingon ship veered off and seemed to be doing a U-turn to return home as it left their view. Directly in front of them was a dot that was brighter than any other star visible and it was growing slowly.

"I think your ride back to Klingon just left," he told her teasingly.

"That's fine, I'm where I should be now." She kissed him on the cheek and then suddenly turned more and looked behind them.

Harry wondered what was going on and turned too, but still holding her hand. He saw Lauren standing there, with Fran and Camilia not too far behind and looking on with very interested expressions.

"I thought…" Lauren stopped, sounding like she was unable to continue as she looked between them.

"Hi Lauren," Harry said, trying to sound as friendly as he could. "I guess you never really met her, other than to see her across the room, but this is K'mpok or Kim. She'll be staying on board."

"Hi," Kim said and held out her hand.

Lauren looked a little lost, but she finally took the proffered hand and gave it a shake. "Hi," she returned, still sounding uncertain.

"Sorry I haven't been around to talk," he told his light brunette friend. "I just returned to learning at school again today. Lt Cdr La Forge has been keeping me busy. How have you been?"

That little bit of conversation seemed to give her enough time to center herself and she sounded fairly normal again. "I've been doing well. Classes has been running normally since the last time we talked. It must be nice to do something other than school."

"Life is more interesting that way," he answered and Kim made a snorting-like sound. "Sometimes too interesting," he amended, which made his girlfriend smile.

"Maybe you can tell me sometime?" Lauren asked.

"Parts of it," he agreed. "Some parts I'd prefer not to think about."

"Some parts I'd preferred not to have lived through," Kim muttered.

Lauren looked at the Klingon girl for a moment as if evaluating her. Turning to Harry, "I think I'd like to hear them, or the parts you can tell me. I should probably rejoin Fran and Camilia. Later, Harry."

"Later, Lauren." He thought she looked a bit disappointed as she left, but he couldn't do much about that.

Kim disengaged her hand from his and put it around his shoulders so she could stand closer and speak so only he could hear her. "You know she wanted to date you, right?"

"I had wondered," he answered quietly. "She's still a friend," he said as if he needed to make a point.

"I don't have a problem with that as long as I'm the one sleeping with you," Kim told him easily. "Let's go get another drink."

He grabbed her hand again and they walked over to the bar; Guinan seemed very busy at the moment. They had barely picked up new glasses when a hand fell on each of their outside shoulders and a head came in the middle near theirs. "If you could join us for a few minutes, please?"

Harry noticed the first officer smiling at the two of them, bringing up a recent memory. The contrast between Riker and K'ronog was vast. "Certainly, Commander," he answered and guided Kim after the man to a table on the side of the room that Lt Worf holding.

"Is everything going well, for each of you?" Riker asked as they took their seats.

Kim nodded and Harry grinned and quipped. "As long as the first officer doesn't try to beat the crap out of me."

Riker took a deep breath and looked away for a moment as if trying to restrain his reaction while Worf again looked like he wanted to pound someone.

"That was a joke," Harry added hastily.

"We know, Harry, it's just that, well, that never should have happened and I still get a little upset when I think about what you had to go through. Worf and I talked about it yesterday." Riker shook his head. "K'ranog's not the first person to be promoted that high when he never should have been. I can name several examples in Starfleet."

"What do you think will happen to him?" Harry asked Worf.

"As the Captain said, it is difficult to say. It will depend greatly upon the standing of his House and who backed him to become first officer. If he has enough backing, he will probably be forced to resign and that will be it. If he as little backing, it's even possible one of the second officers will cause an accident for him." Worf shrugged. "However, it will not go well for him as he has lost much honor for tricking you into a fight you never should have been in for something that no one would have contested. He crossed a line he shouldn't have and he will pay for that."

Harry nodded in understanding and Kim said, "An accident may be very probable. He was not well like by most of the crew."

Worf gave him a hard look. "I was very impressed to hear of your victory. If you would like to train with me, I would be willing to teach you."

With a surprised look at Riker who appeared amused that his prediction had come true so quickly, Harry said as respectfully as he could. "Thank you, I would be honored." When Kim hit his thigh with her hand under the table, he had to contain his laughter. "Would she be welcome too?"

"Yes," Worf agreed. "I can teach you both at the same time."

"Would you teach me to use my bat'leth? Please?" she asked, barely on this side of begging.

Worf raised a bushy eyebrow at her. "Where did you get a bat'leth?"

"I won it in a bet when Harry fought." As the two men stared at her, she looked down and said, "Harry told me he'd win so I thought I should take advantage of the situation."

Riker shook his head with a grin of disbelieve while Worf just looked at her for a long moment. "Yes, I will teach you how to use a bat'leth - properly."

"Thank you," she told him with a nod, very pleased.

Riker looked at Harry. "There is something I thought we should talk about, and that's your future. When Captain Picard and I filled out the application for you to be a Federation Citizen, we had to guess at a date of birth for you because there is no direct way to arrive at a date. Since you said you were almost eighteen and had been considered an adult where you came from, we just set your birthday to be the day before you arrived and subtracted eighteen years, making you born in 2349. Making you an adult solved several problems."

Harry grinned, "Thank you, Commander."

"While you don't really need one, if you had needed a guardian, I was going to volunteer for that. In that light, I hope you don't mind if I lay out some choices that you have and maybe give you some advice."

"No, not at all," Harry said, accepting the offer quickly.

"The same applies from me to you, Akhil," Worf said.

"Thank you, I would be grateful," she told him. "Could you also change my name on the application? I'd like to be known as K'mpok Akhil." She looked at her boyfriend. "Harry calls me Kim and I think I like that as it allows me to fit in a little better."

Worf nodded agreeably. "I can change the application and I think that is a good decision for you."

"Harry, and Kim if you plan to stay with him," Riker added with a little smirk, "I think you have several choices, none of which have to made immediately. We'll be at the starbase for at least the next week and more likely about ten days while we make repairs with parts they're sending to us so we can achieve at least warp three; then we'll head to a shipyard for major repairs which Geordi thinks will take nearly two months.

"In no particular order … if you like, we can arrange passage to Earth.

"If you prefer, you can research planets in the Federation and we can arrange passage to one of them.

"You can stay here with us until you finish your education and work part time; Geordi told me about his desires to have you on his team and to train you. Kim, I'm sure we could find a part-time job for you as well or you could be only a full-time student..

"Last, I was talking to Doctor Crusher about your special needs and it happened that Doctor Sorrd overheard part of the conversation. Doctor Crusher asked her to join us because Doctor Sorrd had already been consulted about your medical needs when you first came onboard. Doctor Sorrd suggested that we contact Vulcan, where she grew up, to see if they could help. The Vulcans are well known for their intelligence and ability to solve unusual problems. So they could help you with your education while helping you to understand how to live in space and if there are any other limitations for you. While I've asked Doctor Sorrd to send a message to Vulcan regarding the possibility of you going there, we don't have an answer yet. When I asked about it, Doctor Sorrd could not think of a reason they wouldn't help you.

"As should be obvious, each choice has it's pros and it's cons."

"I'll have to consider the options with Kim," Harry told him, "but would it be possible to maybe spend some time on Vulcan during the repairs and join the Enterprise when it's ready to go again?" Kim looked surprised at that and then pleased.

Riker's smirk returned. "It's always wise to consider what the girl wants. As for your question, that's a possibility too."

"I remember our conversation in the captain's quarters. What would it be like with the Vulcans studying me?" He couldn't help but remember the observation that he would be studied somewhere.

"In general, Vulcans try to approach life scientifically and non-emotionally; they're also very respectful of individuals. That being said, they tend to be a very curious people also." Riker shrugged. "While I'm not sure if that would be an ideal situation for you or not, I do believe you could do a lot worse than spending some time on Vulcan. The Vulcan Science Academy is highly regarded throughout the Federation."

Harry nodded as he thought it through. "That is tempting." He looked at both men. "Thank you for trying to help us. I know I haven't made it easy on you."

"Perhaps yesterday could have gone smoother, but you've also kept us alive which is far more important and you have my thanks and respect for that," Worf said solemnly.

"You have my thanks as well, and you've really not been all that difficult," Riker told him with an easy smile. "Now that we've delivered our news, we'll let you enjoy the party." He patted Harry on the back and stood.

Worf looked at her. "K'mpok, I like it," he said with a nod. "You are old enough to take care of yourself, but call me if you need anything." He gave her a stern look. "Do _not_ get into trouble." With that last warning, he rose and the two men left.

Kim looked at Harry and laughed quietly. "I like him. Too bad he wasn't my father."

"What do you want to do?" he asked.

"I think either staying on the Enterprise or going to Vulcan. I wonder if they could help me in regards to my ancestry," she shrugged.

"All right, let's go to Vulcan, if they'll let us," he told her. "For now, let's go see if we can find something to snack on. Oh, I didn't mind the other Klingon food and I liked the Bloodwine, but can we avoid the octopus and the worms?"

Kim threw her head back and laughed, causing Harry to shake his head at her.

They rose and went back to the bar area. They also looked out the front windows and saw that the "large star" from before was now a model sized structure and growing fast. They had reached the starbase, but their trek had really just begun.

(the end for now)

* * *

(A/N: Thank you to all of you who reviewed! I appreciate them, especially the ones who discussed the ST universe, and you know who you are. :) It seems a lot of you liked this story, despite that it's a mix of "fantasy" and "sci-fi", which doesn't seem like it should go together at first thought. {If you want 2 series who do that mix fairly well it would the "Warlock" series by Christopher Stasheff and the "Pern" series by Anne McCaffrey, although you don't get the sci-fi parts too much until you hit "All the Weyrs of Pern" or "Dragon's Dawn".}

I almost forgot. If you'd like to read a HP/Pern crossover, check out author Bobmin356. His 3-part series has kept me entertained and I recommend it.

Much like the Avenger crossover story, this story was written to do something very different beyond the normal Hogwarts/fight-Voldemort type of story. Also like the Avenger story, this is done in such a way that I can easily continue it, sort of like adding another episode/movie to a series. I'd like to write a sequel and I plan to, but it's also possible that life will deny me the opportunity. Fortunately, I do have most of a sequel already outlined, so assuming real live allows, I'll post at least 1 sequel and possibly more. - Kevin)


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